Page 1780 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
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As we anticipated, these findings are in line with the findings from overseas, particularly in Europe, where pill testing is already commonplace. Results from Europe have shown that pill testing can save lives and influence people who use drugs to make safer choices. A study in Austria found that two-thirds of users who were informed by a government-funded pill testing service of potential toxic harms decided not to consume their drugs, and told their friends not to. In Switzerland, research has found that a pill testing service is often the first contact with social support systems for many users.
Contrary to the claims of opponents, the evidence supports the assertion that pill testing does not lead to an increase in drug taking but rather that the information offered by these services can instead lead to reduced consumption. At the recent Canberra trial, we know that a number of people discarded their pills after receiving advice about what they contained. Initial reports suggested that, as well as the two dangerous substances I already spoke about, pills contained a number of other substances, such as lactose and paint.
I understand that while there were people at the festival who were treated by ambulance services for alcohol and drug use, none of those people are believed to have attended the pill testing service. Health professionals had the opportunity to directly engage with more than 100 people in a genuine conversation about the risks of drug use and how they can reduce harm through informed decision-making. Real-time information was also provided to ACT police and to health services about what had been identified through the trial to help inform drug detection and treatment efforts.
Despite the fearmongering and misinformation from opponents, the trial worked exactly as it should have, and many festival attendees were safer for it. Madam Speaker, I do not expect that the Canberra Liberals were persuaded by the weekend’s results. In fact I heard as much from Mr Hanson the day after the festival. There are only so many times we can present them with the evidence and explain the importance of these kinds of harm minimisation approaches.
The contrast between our approach and the alternative is stark. We have heard recently that the New South Wales Liberal government is doubling down on its law and order approach to drug use. One example is the New South Wales government’s use of sniffer dogs to patrol music festivals. The evidence base for this approach is poor at best.
A New South Wales government review of sniffer dogs found that police uncovered drugs in only 26 per cent of cases where the dog gave a positive indication. At the same time we know of at least two cases where young Australians died when they swallowed all of their drugs at once to avoid detection by sniffer dogs. These are the tragic and very real consequences of this sort of ill-informed drug policy.
As I mentioned earlier, it has been a long journey to get to this point. I want to thank Minister Fitzharris and ACT Health for genuinely engaging in a process to consider the risks and benefits of this initiative. I recognise that it takes courage and leadership
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