Adulterated drugs and a shortage of pill testing services is making it hard for people who use drugs to stay safe. But they’re taking matters into their own hands.
Articles on Pill testing
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Ketamine is steadily becoming the drug of choice for many people in the party scene. Here’s how to keep you and your mates safe.
The traction drug checking is gaining in Australia reflects local and international evidence showing these services reduce harm for people who use illicit drugs.
Nitazenes can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. They’re not yet common in Australia so now is the time to implement policies to reduce their harm and limit their uptake.
The good news is most teenagers don’t use illicit drugs, and the majority of those who do only do so occasionally and don’t come to serious harm.
Drug checking services could also provide an early warning system to flag any unusually dangerous substances in circulation.
There’s a lot we don’t know about how Queenslanders will be able to get their pills tested in future. But here’s how other countries do it.
What happens when drug testing experts come across a substance they have never seen before?
Pill testing has faced a setback in Australia with insurers withdrawing insurance from Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra.
Now restrictions are easing, some people who have not used alcohol or other drugs recently may start to use them again, and need to be aware of their reduced tolerance.
I was an expert witness to the coronial inquest into five drug-related deaths across Melbourne between July 2016 and January 2017. Here’s what we should do to prevent similar tragedies.
New research shows Australians are becoming more open to less punitive responses to drug use.
Pill testing, no more sniffer dogs and fewer strip searches are some of the ways the NSW coroner says will reduce drug deaths at music festivals.
Similar laws in the US have actually led to increasing the risk of fatal drug overdoses.
Most drug use among Australian festival goers appears to be occasional and isn’t problematic. But a small group experience higher rates of drug-related harms.
There are many ways to reduce harm from drugs at music festivals beyond the much publicised pill testing. Here’s what else we can do.
New research shows some festival goers are willing to take a dodgy pill regardless of the test result. So, let’s use pill testing to educate them and others about reducing their risk.
The technology to identify pills is getting cheaper and smaller. That means it could also be used to test the make-up of illegal pills at festivals and other events.
Originally designed to display service times or bible quotations, church signs are becoming a site of political commentary, tackling everything from pill testing to refugee rights.
It’s ineffective to use drug dogs at festivals and in public places because they’re much more likely to catch small-time users than suppliers.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Senior lecturer, Australian National University
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Associate Professor, National Drug Research Institute / enAble Institute, Curtin University
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Associate Professor in Criminology and Drug Policy, Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Lecturer in Paramedic Science , CQUniversity Australia
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Professor & Specialist in Drug Policy, UNSW
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NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
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Senior lecturer, UNSW
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Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
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Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University; UNSW
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Professor, Director of Research and Statistical Support Service and Program Leader for Substance Use and Mental Health, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland
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Natalie Gately is a Friend of The Conversation.
Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University