In the latest twist in what has been a fiercely-fought battle to implement pill testing at festivals, Melbourne’s Port Phillip Council has just given the controversial preventative measure its latest push, having voted last night in favour of a trial at local events.

While the vote doesn’t bring about any changes on its own, it will begin the process of lobbying the Victorian State Government to trial drug testing machines at a range of consenting festivals, clubs and music events in the area, which includes the location of popular annual event St Kilda festival.

The proposal was put forward by councillors Ogy Simic and Dick Gross, the latter a former mayor, as hospitalisations continue to mount due to so-called ‘bad batches’ of widely-used illicit substancess like MDMA, and drug-related deaths at festivals remain an ever-present threat.

“While we acknowledge not everyone supports our proposal,” Councillor Gross is quoted as saying on Music Feeds, “we hope [the Government] will reconsider their view as recent deaths and hospitalisations linked to illicit drug taking show a new approach is urgently needed.”

 “A pilot program would provide important data for an informed debate on the merits of pill testing and potentially save lives by alerting recreational drug users to bad batches of illicit drugs.”

As reported by The Herald Sun, the result of the vote hasn’t been an entirely popular one, with councillor Andrew Bond slamming the idea, claiming that the council had “disgraced” themselves with the proposal.

“Is it any wonder Port Phillip can’t keep the streets clean when the major issue this council has (aligned) itself with … is the testing of illegal party drugs?”, he said. “I can only hope this is the last ridiculous, illegal and attention-seeking proposal to come before council … for the remainder of the duration of this council’s term.”

Despite Councillor Bond’s objections, it would seem to us that providing the option to test the quality of drugs would then remove many of those substances – those even more dangerous than the ‘pure’ substances – from those streets he’d like to keep clean. Then, finding they’re no longer able to dupe customers with tainted merchandise, drug producers and dealers would be more inclined to offer a more predictable, not to mention more expensive, product – or nothing at all.

As detailed by various medical professionals, pill testing may have positive effects in minimising an illegal marketplace, as well as in data collection and the potential for education. While many are worried about encouraging or seemingly legitimising illicit drug use by allowing pill testing, surely the removal of deadly tainted batches in favour of more predictable substances can only serve to minimise the very real potential for harm we’re seeing on a constant basis.

In September, a Greens motion to discuss the issue was passed through the Senate, but didn’t lead to a shift in stance from Liberal or Labor governments. The Greens described pill testing as one of the “evidence-based harm reduction measures that the government should resource,” along with other initiatives like needle and syringe programs and supervised injecting rooms.

“Six people in Australia die each day due to overdose,” said Greens Leader Dr Richard Di Natale. “It’s devastating for families, it’s entirely preventable, and our country’s politicians need to find the courage to do what they can to prevent further harm.”

Whether this new call will usher in any change remains to be seen.

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