After releasing a detailed operational report on the second Australian pill testing pilot conducted at Groovin The Moo in April, Pill Testing Australia has launched an advert to support and drive conversation around pill testing at festivals.
The advert, directed by Dylan Harrison from Hooligan Collective, shows a young man hesitating at the top of a cliff while his friends dive into the water below.
A labcoat-wearing woman appears beside the young man telling him that she can’t stop him from jumping but she can help him mitigate the risks by looking at “what’s inside.”
The scene then cuts to a pill testing tent at a music festival. The implication is clear: taking a pill without pill testing is like taking a blind jump off a cliff.
Pill Testing Australia spokesperson Gino Vambucca applauded the creativity of Dylan Harrison for producing a very relevant and strong community service announcement around the important harm reduction strategy.
“The fact that members of the Australian public like Dylan feel so motivated to play an active role in advocating for pill testing to be introduced, is incredibly rewarding for all the public health practitioners and volunteers involved with our work.” Mr Vambucca said.
“The Australian model of pill testing has been designed to interact with people who are about to consume an unknown substance, and this has been captured so poignantly by Dylan. We are looking forward to sharing his incredible work with our stakeholders and the general public through our social media platforms and website.” Mr Vambucca continued.
The pill testing report from Groovin The Moo shows that the free service for consumers tested 170 substances for 234 participants, twice the number tests conducted at the first pill testing pilot a year earlier.