A warning from the stage of a Tasmanian music festival for punters to 'not take recreational drugs' as a precaution following a death at the event has again sparked calls for an introduction to pill testing — but the government is not budging.
The Queensland government in February said it would introduce pill-testing at festivals — among other drug-related legislative reforms — but is still tendering for a testing provider.Backed by Pill Testing Australia, the CanTEst Health and Drug Checking Service uses a face-to-face service run by graduate chemists.
"Drugs that are illegal are exactly that for many reasons. They often result in addiction and serious medical issues, as well as destroy lives, ultimately lining the pockets of criminals," Ms Archer said.But it is a change the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council of Tasmania is in support of. "We would love to start the conversation and get some festival guidelines in place and reduce the harm for Tasmanians who attend festivals."
"For some people it gives a false sense of security … it normalises drug use and we want to go away from that," Mr Waterman said. "A pill testing service never says, 'this drug is now safe to use', it merely says 'this drug is or is not what you thought it was'," she said. "The rhetoric that they've used has painted them into a corner and it's really up to the doctors and the experts to help them with the rhetoric.
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