Drug Testing At Festivals

In the last five years alone, ten lives have been cut short from drug overdoses at music festivals. With around 7.3 million drug users in Victoria alone, the rising amount of O.D.’s at music festivals is a problem that cannot be swept under the rug. How can we stop these children from dying before their lives begin?

Australian’s should have access to pill testing at festivals without legal consequences.

Recently, another death occurred at a festival in December due to an O.D. This 19-year-old young man was described as ‘intelligent’ by friend, Bianca Douglas, but how can an intelligent man die so young?

That one bad pill.

You can have one million friends tell you that they were fine, that they have a great time during their drug use. But without access to drug testing, one can never know what severe consequences can come with that $20 pill.

The government refuses to consider condoning pill testing at festivals, and in turn the government refuses to save lives.

One fear of pill testing at festivals is that young people may see this as condoning the usage, because if the drug is shown to be safe, then they are saying it is safe to use. However, many doctors have voiced that in no part of the testing process will the user be assured that the usage of the pill, powder or drug will come without consequences, even if it is clean.

The government rejects the notion that the options aren’t crystal clear, that either someone choses to use drugs and someone choses not too.

But the options are as follows, someone’s choses to test their drug, making sure its clean and safer to use, or someone unknowingly uses a contaminated drug, one which will severely hurt them, maybe even end their life.

So, the options aren’t condoning the use of drugs or not, the options are standing by or saving lives.

Pill testing will also help to remove harmful drugs from circulation because if the drug user is alive and aware of the contamination of the drug, they can warn others from the dealer, or even turn them into the police.

If a person dies from drug use, it will be extremely hard to find the person who sold it to them, but with the help of the recipient of the drug, locating a source will be much easier.

From one bad pill discovered, so many more lives are saved.

With a clear cut way to reach out to drug users, it will be easier to inform them of the potential risks and consequences of recreational drug use.

1. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/drug-use-in-victoria
2. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-10/callum-brosnan-remembered-in-online-tribute-after-festival-death/10598918