'Get On Board': Independent Evaluation Of Festival Pill Testing Trial Deemed A Success

An independent evaluation into the pill testing trial conducted at Groovin The Moo festival earlier this year has been deemed a success. 

As ABC reports, Dr Anna Olsen of the Australian National University (ANU) Medical School conducted the trial at the Canberra event in April, which saw 230 punters take part and 170 substances tested, and released the findings today.  

"This particular service was run really well and it provided good quality information and it was really well received by people who used it, as well as stakeholders in the Canberra community," Olsen said.

Olsen continued, "We also found that people were telling us that they were changing their drug taking behaviours after coming in the service.

"So, some people disposed of their drugs, some people talked about using less of their drugs then they planned and some people also told us about using other harm reduction behaviours... "

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith added that the trial proved pill testing is an "effective health intervention".

"I would urge all of my state and territory colleagues and the Commonwealth Health Minister to look really closely at the evidence and to get board with this policy that has the potential to save lives," she said.

The independent evaluation comes after a 24-year-old man died at NSW's Strawberry Fields festival after consuming multiple substances.

Noffs Foundation's Kieran Palmer again called on the NSW Government to consider pill testing. 

"Here we are once again taking time out to talk about this issue when at this very moment, there is a mother and a father who are busy making funeral preparations for their 24-year-old son," Palmer said.

"There is so much evidence from both in Australia and overseas to suggest at least trialing something like pill testing... we at least need to listen. We need to listen to the majority of Australian families who are now backing this, we need to listen to the doctors, the chemists, the Australian Medical Association, experts in the field.

"The coroner herself who's come out and made recommendations that we need to look at this, that the evidence is compelling."