News
RACGP Supports Expert Calls for Drug Testing
Read more: RACGP Supports Expert Calls for Drug TestingThe Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has backed calls for drug testing services to save lives at risk. Read more
A free, legal drug checking service is being set up in three cities around Aotearoa.
Read more: A free, legal drug checking service is being set up in three cities around Aotearoa.The new service is now available at community clinics in Wellington and Christchurch five days a week, and four days a week in Dunedin. The clinics are provided by the Needle Exchange Services Trust (NEST) and are the only regular scheduled drug checking service that’s available multiple days of the week. Read more
CanTEST on their first 1000 drug tests
Read more: CanTEST on their first 1000 drug testsCanberra’s drug checking site has now tested 1000 substances. The harm reduction service reported a majority of users disposing of their illicit drugs when testing found they contained unexpected and dangerous substances. ABC’s Adam Shirley spoke with Stephanie Stephens, the Director of Service Delivery at Directions Health. Watch video
Churchill Fellowship Report
Read more: Churchill Fellowship ReportTo visit leading international drug checking services to rapidly improve the analytical chemistry capabilities in Australia (Mal McLeod – lead analyst for Pill Testing Australia). Read more
‘Join the movement’: Minister calls for pill testing trial in NSW
Read more: ‘Join the movement’: Minister calls for pill testing trial in NSWA NSW minister has broken ranks to urge her Labor government colleagues to “join the nationwide movement” toward pill testing at music festivals, while also suggesting controversial policing tactics such as strip searches and drug-detection dogs should be part of the promised drug summit. Read more
Groovin the Moo fails to secure pill testing again as insurers remain risk averse
Read more: Groovin the Moo fails to secure pill testing again as insurers remain risk aversePill testing will not be available onsite at this year’s Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra after exorbitant insurance premiums meant the service was too costly to offer, but CanTEST is expanding its services on the festival weekend. Read more
Canberra’s Groovin the Moo music festival will again be without pill-testing, as insurance becomes 22 times more expensive
Read more: Canberra’s Groovin the Moo music festival will again be without pill-testing, as insurance becomes 22 times more expensiveThe Groovin the Moo music festival in Canberra will again be without pill-testing after prohibitively expensive insurance premiums forced the service to be scrapped. Read more
Tasmanian government unmoved on pill testing despite drug warning to Panama festival-goers
Read more: Tasmanian government unmoved on pill testing despite drug warning to Panama festival-goersThe Tasmanian government has again ruled out allowing pill testing, despite expert calls for it to be introduced following organisers at a music festival over the weekend warning patrons in the wake of a fatality at the event. Read the ABC report
Queensland Pill Testing – HRA Interview
Read more: Queensland Pill Testing – HRA InterviewListen to the HRA Interview (audio)
Red alert issued over ‘dangerous drug’ detected in Australia. Here’s the warning for festivalgoers
Read more: Red alert issued over ‘dangerous drug’ detected in Australia. Here’s the warning for festivalgoersThe potentially lethal drug – called metonitazine – was detected in unmarked yellow pills that were sold as oxycodone. The substance has linked to fatal drug overdoses in New Zealand and the United States. Read the SBS article