Policy Research Project

Pill testing at Music Festivals

Background

The use of party going pills is common and is increasing among young people, frequenters to music festivals across Australia (Lloyd Jones and Komesaroff, 2019). In recent years, there have been a number of fatal overdoses as a result of toxic quality pills which call for government intervention to prevent drug related deaths in music festivals (Reference). This policy calls upon mobile pill testing in the intention of harm minimisation. The policy of harm minimization by implementing pill testing aims to reduce the mortality rate by deterring people from ingesting the drug in the first place by warning them of the dangerous toxins. This policy is argued to blur the line of the legality of the drug in the first place. The issue that needs to be addressed because there are lives at stake. The key issues surrounding these measures are the accuracy of the on-site testing and the legality of drug itself. Some argue that the only way to ensure that young people are safe from the effects of illegal drugs are abstinence (Lloyd Jones and Komesaroff, 2019).

Current issues

The current stance of the Australian government includes dog sniffer’s and strip searches which are common drug prevention measures. However, these measures do nothing to prevent cases of death in music festivals. These measures have an adverse effect on prevention as festival goers end up taking drugs before the festival, doubling the dose, or panicking and ingesting drugs quickly to avoid detection (Lee, 2019). These are serious concerns as this increases the risk of toxicity and the policy proposal ensures in taking a harm minimization approach. There are many strengths as well as weaknesses to this approach, however the strengths tend to overweigh the cons. Research suggest that pill testing influences behaviour, suggesting that negative results with pill testing deter majority of people from consuming drugs, and incites them to warn their friends (Thomas, 2018).

The policy is likely to influence how consumers consume a drug which would make it safer and less likely to overdose. Another added benefit would be that the prospective drug user would be able to have a conversation with the doctor at hand. Keeping this in mind, there exist weaknesses to this policy. On-site testing has limited accuracy in determining harmful substances and by allowing such on-site pill testing, contradictory messages are being sent about the risks related to the use and possession of illegal narcotics (Thomas, 2018). This also promotes a false sense of security to prospective drug users who believe that the drug is harmless.

Conclusion

This proposal would be beneficial for the society at large, with the principle component of harm reduction in the music festival environment. Rather than earlier mechanisms which don’t contribute to the issue, the proposal would allow festival goers to have a safer experience, and overall contributing to the welfare of people. If implemented, the program should have a well thought out data collection process in order to better assess the policy’s impact as well as consequences. Keeping in mind that pill testing would not completely eliminate any of the harms associated with drug consumption however reduces the possibility to an extent.

References

Lee, N., 2019. When the coroner looked at how to cut drug deaths at music festivals, the evidence won. But what happens next?. The Conversation, [online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/when-the-coroner-looked-at-how-to-cut-drug-deaths-at-music-festivals-the-evidence-won-but-what-happens-next-126669[Accessed 12 April 2020].

Lloyd Jones, M. and Komesaroff, P., 2019. Here’s why doctors are backing pill testing at music festivals across Australia. The Conversation, [online] Available at: https://theconversation.com/heres-why-doctors-are-backing-pill-testing-at-music-festivals-across-australia-109430[Accessed 12 April 2020].

Thomas, M., 2018. The pros and cons of pill testing. [Blog] FlagPost, Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2018/May/The_pros_and_cons_of_pill_testing [Accessed 12 April 2020].