The state of Victoria will start pill testing this summer, in what Premier Jacinta Allen called “a simple and common sense way to save lives”.
The Victorian Premier highlighted the need for pill testing by pointing out that the number of overdoses in the state is on the rise, and something needs to be done to protect young people while they are at music festivals.
“Our paramedics responded to more drug overdoses at festivals in the first three months of this year than during all of last year,” she said.
Speaking from the kitchen in her own home, Allan promoted the pill testing trial from the perspective of a parent fearing for her child’s safety, but also as someone who understood that young people are smart enough to know how to manage risks.
I wanted to tell you here first: pill testing will be trialled in Victoria this summer. pic.twitter.com/Bbfeurp1N5
— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) June 24, 2024
“Young people are smart and they want information. If [they] get handed a pill at a festival, they want a medical professional who can tell them exactly what it is and exactly what it does — without telling them it’s safe,” said the premier.
“No judgment. Just facts. Honest, open, health-focused conversations. That’s how we changed young people’s behaviour and even reduce drug use. And that’s what pill testing is about.”
In a further statement on how the trial would work, Allan clarified that pill testing “doesn’t make pills legal”, and is designed with safety in mind.
“It’s an implementation trial – not a trial for whether the service should exist long-term. It’s about testing different models of delivery for an important health service that eventually will be in place permanently,” read the statement.
“The mobile service is set to begin this summer at the start of the festival season and will attend up to 10 music festivals and events throughout the trial period.”
As well the 10 music festivals, a fixed pill testing site will also open in mid-2025 located in an inner Melbourne area close to nightlife and transport.
Allan also clarified in the video that: “No drug is ever truly safe, but people deserve to know if that one pill will kill,” she said.
Additionally, she highlighted how based on data from similar policies around the world, the “evidence says it works”.
This is all a big change from Jacinta Allan’s stance on pill testing in January this year, where she said the best way to avoid drug-related deaths was promoting “personal responsibility“.
“If people are concerned about substances, don’t consume them. There’s a personal responsibility here as well,” she said at the time.
“That’s the way to stay out of hospital, that’s the way to stay out of the intensive care ward, is to not take the substance in the first place.”
This stance was widely criticised at the time, so it is nice to see Allan has changed her tune.
Experts welcome Victoria’s pill testing trial
Last November there were expectations the Victorian Government would legalise pill testing within 12 months, which experts said was “about time”.
Associate Professor at Monash Addiction Research Centre Shalini Arunogiri said the announcement was “fantastic to see”.
“Pill testing can help people make an informed decision about what they are choosing to use, with factual information on potential risks and harms,” Arunogiri told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
The associate professor also shared that pill testing could also have positive impacts on mental health.
“This hasn’t been looked at specifically in research studies, but it is likely that taking the fear, stigma and shame out of conversations about substance use would support mental health and wellbeing- for both the individual and their loved ones.”
Though there are a variety of concerns raised by the public, held due to the illicit nature of drug use, Arunogiri highlighted pill testing is an evidence based measure that has been “demonstrated to reduce harm”.
“Services like pill testing do not condone drug use and do not give the message that drug use is safe. In fact, studies suggest that the majority of people who have substances checked will consider discarding them if found to be contaminated or harmful,” informed Arunogiri.
“Factual, accurate and health-led information for the community about the role of pill testing sites will be an important part of any model that is implemented.”
Victoria will become the third state/territory in Australia to implement any form of pill testing, following the ACT and Queensland. The former first began trialing pill testing in 2018, while Queensland opened its first pill testing site in March this year.
[Image: Getty]
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