How much a pill-testing trial would cost Victoria Feb 4, 2024A 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.
Public health warning: tablets sold as MDMA (Ecstasy) found to contain a potent opioid Jan 30, 2024NSW 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.
The state government must take this golden opportunity on pill testing Jan 19, 2024A 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.
‘We have this conversation every summer’: The cost of MDMA overdoses Jan 19, 2024Victorian 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.
Canberra chemists identify three new recreational drugs after mystery substances turn up at Australia’s only fixed pill-testing site Jan 19, 2024Three mysterious recreational drugs have surfaced for the first time in Australia with chemists describing them as “unexpected, new psychoactive substances”.