News
‘We have this conversation every summer’: The cost of MDMA overdoses
Read more: ‘We have this conversation every summer’: The cost of MDMA overdosesVictorian 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
Canberra chemists identify three new recreational drugs after mystery substances turn up at Australia’s only fixed pill-testing site
Read more: Canberra chemists identify three new recreational drugs after mystery substances turn up at Australia’s only fixed pill-testing siteThree mysterious recreational drugs have surfaced for the first time in Australia with chemists describing them as “unexpected, new psychoactive substances”. Read more
Dozens of drug deaths at music festivals potentially preventable, study finds
Read more: Dozens of drug deaths at music festivals potentially preventable, study findsMore 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
How does Victoria’s stance on pill testing shape up against the rest of Australia? Here’s what you need to know
Read more: How does Victoria’s stance on pill testing shape up against the rest of Australia? Here’s what you need to knowPill 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
NSW’s Pill-Testing Stance A Risk As Festival Season Rages On
Read more: NSW’s Pill-Testing Stance A Risk As Festival Season Rages OnHow many more of our young people will needlessly lose their lives this summer due to government inaction? Read more
‘We’ve saved lives’ – NZ Drug checking service marks two years
Read more: ‘We’ve saved lives’ – NZ Drug checking service marks two yearsIt 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
Report shows MDMA involved in most drug-related music festival deaths | ABC News
Read more: Report shows MDMA involved in most drug-related music festival deaths | ABC NewsAustralian 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…
I was grateful my kids could get their pills tested, if they had any
Read more: I was grateful my kids could get their pills tested, if they had anyOver the upcoming hot summer months young people in NSW will be heading to music festivals right across the state but unlike at Spilt Milk, young people will be denied the same chance to know more about any drugs they might be using and to have a conversation with a health professional about their drug…
Four people hospitalised due to ‘drug issues’ after attending Western Sydney dance music festival
Read more: Four people hospitalised due to ‘drug issues’ after attending Western Sydney dance music festivalAs the pill-testing debate rages on, several doctors say the conversation is swamped by political discourse and are concerned partygoers don’t understand the risks in mixing certain drugs, how potency can turn lethal, and why extreme heat is deadly. Read more
Drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals
Read more: Drug-related deaths at Australian music festivalsNew research available at the International Journal of Drug Policy. Read more