The A+ Harm Minimisation Summit Explored ‘Straya’s Need For Pill-Testing

Today in Sydney, a group of politicians and speakers conducted a Parliamentary summit to discuss our laws around drug use, called the Harm Minimisation Summit 2016. 

The non-partisan roundtable included Greens‘ Mehreen Faruqi (fresh from her success in bringing an super important abortion reform Bill into Parliament earlier in the day), Jo Haylen MP, Alex Greenwich MP, and MLC Shayne Mallard. 

In the third session of the day, ‘Harm Minimisation Approaches’, we listened to National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre‘s Dr Monica Barratt, Canberra Calvary Hospital‘s Emergency Consultant Dr David Caldicott, Deputy CEO of ACON Ms Karen Price, and President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation Dr Alex Wodak. 

Wodak is known for resorting to civil disobedience in order to begin an injecting centre in Kings Cross in 1999 after a similar summit, and has since said he would resort to similar action in order to create professional pill-testing stations at music festivals. 

Between 2000 and 2008, almost 100 young Australians died from overdosing on ecstasy at festivals, and more recently, we witnessed the deaths of Sylvia Choi and Stefan Woodward from overdoses at EDM festival Stereosonic.

Approaches such as pill-testing, decriminalisation of drug possession (not legalisation of supply), increase of services (particularly for heavier affected groups such as Aboriginal communities and LGBTQIA communities), most injection centres and Drug Consumption Rooms (DRCs), heroin prescription programs, and syringe programs in prisons were discussed. 

Attendees of the summit were asked to raise their hands if they supported these issues at the conclusion, and many – particularly decriminalisation and pill-testing – were shown to have unanimous support.

Consensus support in the room for decriminalisation of drug use#harmmin2016 pic.twitter.com/gljpB0L41c

— Unharm (@Unharmdotorg) August 11, 2016

#NSWdrugsummit Agreed in room: Decriminalise drug use. More harm min for Aboriginal. Naloxone. Heroin on prescription 1/2

— NUAA (@nuaansw) August 11, 2016

Powerful image. Happening now Latest @DrugPolicy_DPMP research – most Australians want decrim #HarmMin2016 @auspol https://t.co/m4QhsjATmr

— Matt Noffs (@mattnoffs) August 11, 2016

‘We have consensus’ on some of the next steps @AlisonRitter1 #HarmMin2016

— Jo Haylen MP (@johaylen) August 11, 2016

Here are just some of the tweets direct from the Summit: 

You can get Obama to meet the parents of overdose victims but not a cabinet minister. @ExodusBillCrews #HarmMin2016 pic.twitter.com/L18cDcWDEh

— Jo Haylen MP (@johaylen) August 11, 2016

Now discussing the importance of pill testing. We must have a trial in NSW #HarmMin2016 pic.twitter.com/g7whNEHYDE

— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) August 11, 2016

What are viable pill testing models? An excellent question from Drug researcher Vivian #HarmMin2016 pic.twitter.com/Hi5W9EFTbK

— Jo Haylen MP (@johaylen) August 11, 2016

pill testing is essential in nsw and Aus wide, our pollies are ignoring their duty of care #HarmMin2016

— chloe sargeant (@chlosarge) August 11, 2016

@AlisonRitter1 summing up: we’ve advanced, but over and over today we’ve heard that we haven’t advanced enough.#harmmin2016

— Unharm (@Unharmdotorg) August 11, 2016

After a day of discussion we come to the “no brainer”: wouldn’t this all be much better if we decriminalised use/possess? #HarmMin2016

— Vivienne Louisa M-H (@vividity) August 11, 2016

While there’s so much work to do, it’s incredible seeing such a large and influential group take the first step in discussing the issues at the Harm Minimisation Summit 2016. 

You can watch our interview about the benefits of decriminalisation with Unharm Director Will Tregoning below: