Queensland will become the first Australian state to roll out pill-testing sites in an attempt to curb the harmful effects of illicit drugs.
The move will shift the country more in line with global standards on harm minimisation, one advocate says.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said on Feb. 25 that Queensland would introduce pill testing at mobile and fixed sites following the success of trials in Canberra.
The service would allow users to have their illicit drugs chemically tested for the presence of potentially dangerous substances and chemical compounds.
“Pill testing is all about harm minimisation,” D'Ath said in a statement.
“We don’t want people ending up in our emergency departments or worse losing their life.
“It is important to note that pill testing services do not promote that drugs are safe, however they are among a suite of options that can positively affect outcomes regarding illicit drug use.”
It follows two trials conducted by Pill Testing Australia (PTA) at Canberra’s Groovin' the Moo festival in 2018 and 2019, and an ongoing trial at a fixed site.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was the first state or territory to introduce a government-approved fixed pill-testing site when it began the trial last year.
Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) have resisted pushes to roll out approved testing sites despite multiple coronial inquests into drug-related festival deaths recommending the measure.
PTA clinical lead and emergency medicine physician David Caldicott said there was a certain degree of bravery in Queensland’s decision.
“Any shift towards science and medicine is something to be vastly applauded and appreciated,” Caldicott told AAP.
“There’s a certain degree of bravery—opponents (to drug checking) will have an anaphylaxis about moving away from the 1950s drug policy.”
The move reflected the community’s desire to shift from a tough-on-drugs approach to medically based solutions, Caldicott said.
“The evidence has always been there—we wouldn’t have been able to start it in the ACT without it,” Caldicott said.
“This is no longer an evidence or medical question. This is almost exclusively an ideological or political decision that has to be made.
“There’s an effort to try to shift to something that is more popular but also the only thing supported by the evidence.
“Australia has been a bit of a standout Luddite on drugs policy and this brings Australia into line with global standards.”
The Queensland government said it was developing protocols around the operation of testing and would go out to market to identify a provider to trial pill testing at fixed and mobile locations.
Drug testing would not prevent police from acting on illicit drug possession, supply and trafficking.
The introduction of services in Queensland will support a key priority of the government’s new plan to reduce alcohol and drug-related harm and consider additional intervention strategies, it said.
