New research shows Australians are becoming more open to less punitive responses to drug use.
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Articles on Pill testing
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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.
Illicit drugs can be dangerous. Read this before you use so you know what to look out for.
Every summer we hear of more deaths from drugs at festivals. But MDMA was originally a medicine, so how can it kill users?
Monkey dust is in the "bath salts" family. Here's what that means.
With several music festival patrons dying this year the pill testing debate is in full swing. Yet people can already purchase legally available test kits. Do they work?
There are arguments against pill testing. But none are as compelling or evidence-based as the arguments for it.
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said conducting on-site drug tests at public events "safely and quickly is not really a practical option". But the technology is available.
In the absence of any more sophisticated options, drug consumers are resorting to drug testing kits they can access themselves.
Not only are our drug policies not working, we're falling behind the rest of the world and what evidence says is best to ensure we have fewer deaths from illicit drugs.
Testing drugs at music festivals not only means we can assess whether they contain anything unexpected, but it's an opportunity to try to change the behaviour of users.
Top contributors
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Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University
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Emergency Medicine Consultant, Australian National University
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Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre and Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University
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Sessional 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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Professor of Medicine, Monash University
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Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University
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Professor & Specialist in Drug Policy, UNSW
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney
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Criminology Courses Coordinator, Edith Cowan University
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Team Leader in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Sydney
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Lecturer, UNSW
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Associate Professor, Program Leader for 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
