The traction drug checking is gaining in Australia reflects local and international evidence showing these services reduce harm for people who use illicit drugs.
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Articles on Pill testing
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Nitazenes can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. They’re not yet common in Australia so now is the time to implement policies to reduce their harm and limit their uptake.
The good news is most teenagers don’t use illicit drugs, and the majority of those who do only do so occasionally and don’t come to serious harm.
Drug checking services could also provide an early warning system to flag any unusually dangerous substances in circulation.
There’s a lot we don’t know about how Queenslanders will be able to get their pills tested in future. But here’s how other countries do it.
What happens when drug testing experts come across a substance they have never seen before?
Pill testing has faced a setback in Australia with insurers withdrawing insurance from Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra.
Now restrictions are easing, some people who have not used alcohol or other drugs recently may start to use them again, and need to be aware of their reduced tolerance.
I was an expert witness to the coronial inquest into five drug-related deaths across Melbourne between July 2016 and January 2017. Here’s what we should do to prevent similar tragedies.
New research shows Australians are becoming more open to less punitive responses to drug use.
Pill testing, no more sniffer dogs and fewer strip searches are some of the ways the NSW coroner says will reduce drug deaths at music festivals.
Similar laws in the US have actually led to increasing the risk of fatal drug overdoses.
Most drug use among Australian festival goers appears to be occasional and isn’t problematic. But a small group experience higher rates of drug-related harms.
There are many ways to reduce harm from drugs at music festivals beyond the much publicised pill testing. Here’s what else we can do.
New research shows some festival goers are willing to take a dodgy pill regardless of the test result. So, let’s use pill testing to educate them and others about reducing their risk.
The technology to identify pills is getting cheaper and smaller. That means it could also be used to test the make-up of illegal pills at festivals and other events.
Originally designed to display service times or bible quotations, church signs are becoming a site of political commentary, tackling everything from pill testing to refugee rights.
It’s ineffective to use drug dogs at festivals and in public places because they’re much more likely to catch small-time users than suppliers.
People who use party drugs say it gives them energy to dance and socialise, reduces their inhibitions and enhances their feelings of connection to others.
Most people assume drugs are illegal because they are dangerous, but the reasons aren’t related to their relative risk or harm.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Social Equity Research Centre and Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Associate Professor in Criminology and Drug Policy, Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University
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Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University
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Medicinal Chemist, UNSW Sydney
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Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
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Professor, Director of Research and Statistical Support Service and Program Leader for Substance Use and Mental Health, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland
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Honorary Clinical Professor, UCL
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Postdoctoral research associate, University of Sydney
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Professor of Medicine, Monash University
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Lecturer, Edith Cowan University
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Honorary Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer in Paramedic Science , CQUniversity Australia
