Physicians welcome NSW pill-testing trials

19 December 2024

A trial of drug checking at summer music festivals in NSW means young people will be more likely to come home safe at the end of the day, a peak physicians’ body has said.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has welcomed this morning’s announcement from the NSW Government, saying it prioritises the health and safety of our communities.

The RACP has long recommended drug checking to reduce the harm from drugs, a policy which was widely supported at the recent NSW Drug Summit.

Professor Jennifer Martin, President of the RACP, says physicians support trials and evaluation of drug checking, tailored to local communities and overseen by experts, as an approach that reduces harm.

“We cannot prevent everyone from using drugs, but drug checking, although having limitations, can reduce harm and help individuals make better-informed and safer decisions about drugs. We can’t for example, detect ‘unknown unknown’ substances, and home-made tablets do not have the chemical or the mixture of chemicals evenly distributed in the tablet.

“The RACP continues to advocate for a comprehensive approach to drug policy, which includes education, harm prevention and reduction, and treatment.”

Professor Adrian Dunlop, President of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine says “this is a good outcome for those of us who have been advocating for a health-focussed approach to drug policy.

“We have seen the success of pill-testing in the ACT and Queensland, about to be adopted in Victoria, and now NSW festival-goers will have a valuable resource available to them this summer, too.

“However – in addition to mobile sites, and the State Health drug testing laboratories, NSW should have a fixed site for drug checking that allows proper testing, for example, for the unknown unknowns, beyond festivals. We are seeing the emergence of deadly new opioids in Australia – and a fixed drug checking site would help alert us regarding these substances.

“Physicians and parents can agree this policy ensures our children and young people come home safe at the end of the day,” says Prof Dunlop.

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