The Victorian Government has said that it will not support pill testing in the state, despite experts saying it will save lives. When Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan talked about “personal responsibility” on Tuesday, she dismissed evidence from scientists, pill testing clinics and trials across Australia, calls from multiple coroners and grieving family members, the Victorian Ambulance Union, evidence on failures of current measures such as sniffer dogs, support from cross-bench MPs, and the majority of Australians (57%) who already want to see it legalised. So if all that is not enough, it raises the question — what is?
Her comments were significant given not just the recent overdoses that saw seven people in Melbourne put into an induced coma last weekend, but as a bill legalising pill testing in the state is currently before parliament.
If passed, the Pill Testing Pilot for Drug Harm Reduction Bill would establish a mobile pill testing service for major music festivals, as well as a fixed-site service for more detailed analysis year round.
It would allow the two sites be licensed for two years and could be extended for a further four years following a review.
It was introduced by the Greens, the Animal Justice Party, and Legalise Cannabis Victoria late last year. However, without support from either the government or opposition, it is destined to fail.
That doesn’t mean the parties have given up of course, but a big push would be needed to get it across the line.
“This government has changed its tune on many progressive issues after sustained pressure from the community and the Greens. ‘Not now’ is not ‘never’,” Acting Leader of the Victorian Greens Aiv Pugielli told PEDESTRIAN.TV today.
“Other places around Australia and the world have already gotten on board with pill testing because it’s proven to help keep young people safe.
“It’s only a matter of time before Victoria joins them. The new Premier is ignoring young people but the Greens won’t. The Greens are ready to work with the Labor Government to make pill testing a reality this year.”
Evidence from other states already conducting pill testing trials is going to help. Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV late last year, CanTEST Peer Educator Mitch Lamb said the success of a trial in Canberra was helping fuel the push elsewhere in Australia.
“I think from here it is going to become a lot more streamlined with other states introducing this,” he said at the time.
“Originally when we pushed drug testing it was an uphill battle, we had overseas information from places like Amsterdam, but politicians said that’s overseas and not relevant here.
“But now we have data from Canberra. And look how positively it’s been taken, not only amongst users but by ACT residents who really like this service. The majority of people here support pill testing.”
He said that at this point in time, pill-testing was more of a political discussion than a scientific one.
“It’s hard to convince governments,” he said.
His comments are echoed by Clinical Lead for Pill Testing Australia Dr David Caldicott, who said arguments against pill testing weren’t “academic”.
“Whatever arguments they had that we can’t measure dose, or we can’t do this or that, those are now nonsense. They always were nonsense,” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV in November last year.
Meanwhile, public pressure is continuing to build. Following last week’s overdoses, Victorian Ambulance Union Secretary Danny Hill told Sky News that the union supported pill testing, saying a more preventative approach needed to be taken.
“It can only help to have the right information out there, the ability for someone to check if this drug is a deadly variant,” he said.
“Not one of these drugs are safe but at least people can detect whether this is the very lethal variant that has done so much harm to east eight people who’ve required critical care intervention.”
Ultimately, public pressure and evidence of support and success from other clinics are going to be key in getting this life-saving measure over the line. The science is already there.
