Author: Gideon Warhaft

A two-year pill-testing trial would cost Victoria about $3.7 million, the Parliamentary Budget Office has found, as left-wing crossbenchers pressure the state government over drug reform after overdoses at this summer’s festivals. Read more

NSW Health is warning of the dangers of tablets which are being sold as MDMA (ecstasy) and found to contain a potent opioid (nitazene). Three people presented to Sydney hospitals over the past weekend, after taking as little as half a tablet. One patient was admitted to the ICU and has since been discharged home.…

A 2023 report on the first six months of Canberra’s fixed drug-testing site showed that when a substance tested was not what the user expected, they were four times more likely to discard the drug. These tests can serve as a last-ditch attempt to save a life. Read more

Victorian taxpayers spend up to $3.9 million a year on MDMA-related overdoses in ambulances, emergency departments, hospital admissions and coronial inquiries, leading advocates to argue there is a financial case for pill testing. Read more

Three mysterious recreational drugs have surfaced for the first time in Australia with chemists describing them as “unexpected, new psychoactive substances”. Read more

More than 60 music festival drug-related deaths over 20 years could have potentially been prevented, with experts saying the new study analysing national coronial records bolsters the case for pill testing. Read more

Pill testing advocates have long argued the service could reduce the harm of drug taking at festivals by helping users better understand the substances they may be consuming. Read more

How many more of our young people will needlessly lose their lives this summer due to government inaction? Read more

It has been two years since Aotearoa’s world-first law change came into effect allowing drug-checking organisations, such as the Drug Foundation and Know Your Stuff, to work legally at festivals. Read more

Australian National University researchers say MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy, contributed to more than 65% of all drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals. The report found there were 64 drug-related festival deaths over the past two decades. Co-author David Caldicott says communication around drugs needs to focus on harm reduction and advice, rather than prohibition-style…