Pill Testing: The Politics vs. Reality
February 2024
Last week at a music festival, harm-reduction advocates and a sensible DJ worked together to switch off the music in order to save lives. A lethal pill containing opioids (rather than MDMA) was circulating at the event. The crowd was alerted because the pill in question was driving hospitalisations. Reading about it brought back my own memories of this issue.
Five years ago, in January 2019, we’d just set up a new political party. Our first state election was in two months time. As political novices, we were often figuring things out on the run. However, the one thing we knew for sure was that most people voting for us would be Sydneysiders under the age of forty. So, we brainstormed ways to engage with them.
One idea we settled on was to talk to punters at music festivals. This would allow us to interact with hundreds from our target demographic, in one place. We contacted festival organisers in our network to see if our small team could attend some of their events, to encourage festival goers to give us their vote at the upcoming March election.
With an understanding that we had been fighting in the industry’s corner, some festivals were happy to help. We organised a few small teams to attend a handful of events in Greater Sydney that summer. The agreement was to talk to festival goers at the entrances for a few hours in the afternoon.
Up until that point – as a political movement – our focus had primarily been the repeal of Sydney’s lockout laws. However, after attending the festivals that January, we realised we needed to broaden our policies. That is, to call out dangerous policing tactics – but mainly to demand the legislation of pill testing.
The urgency for change became undeniable at one event I attended. Standing at the gates, handing out flyers, talking and listening to young voters – the sheer excitement for the day ahead with mates was tangible. However, when a large contingent of police (with sniffer dogs) showed up in the mid afternoon, the atmosphere changed entirely.
The excited anticipation was rapidly replaced by tension and trepidation, both amongst attendees and the festival staff. News that the police were patrolling the entrances must have spread like wildfire, because it wasn’t just the general mood that shifted. It was also the general state of some of the festival goers showing up.
Whereas only an hour earlier, everyone had been relaxed and chatty, we suddenly began to notice some festival goers clearly under the influence of MDMA. Rather than discard any pills bought for the event, it seemed some were “preloading” everything in order to bypass issues with police at the gates.
A few hours later, when we’d finished canvassing, we sat on a stretch of grass inside the venue to have some drinks as a team. Inevitably requiring the bathroom, all of us came back from the portaloos with the same story – that condoms were strewn inside them. These were not condoms used for sex. They were condoms some had used to bring pills into the event for personal use.
As a community, we have a wide range of viewpoints on drug policy. Some think police pressure at these events is needed to thwart a free-for-all. Others think that allowing pill testing is akin to legalising drugs themselves. Whatever our position and despite the professionalism of festival organisers – some people will continue to bring pills into these events, along with the risks associated with them, regardless.
Sure! Burying our head in the sand is one option. Another is to cancel all of our east coast music festivals, out of fear – decimating an entire economic ecosystem that generates thousands of jobs, puts food on tables and provides artists with much needed work. Alternatively – we can begin to discuss this issue like adults, explore other ways and demand better from our politicians.
In a thirteen-month period leading up to the festival I attended five years ago, six young people died at music festivals. With six families torn apart, a coronial inquest was held in 2019. After months of testimonies, the NSW State Coroner concluded that pill testing would save lives and that current policing tactics substantially increased risks.
Yet, nearly every single recommendation made by the state coroner has been ignored by both Liberal and Labor governments. It seems that the political capital generated by appearing to be “tough on drugs” is more valuable than the modernisation of our drugs policy. More valuable too, it seems, then reducing the risks to young people and saving lives.
Pill testing is by no means a silver bullet. However, it is a massive step in the right direction. At last week’s music festival where the music was turned off, had it been available – it would have substantially reduced if not eliminated risks. As a community, until we confront the reality of this issue and demand more from our leaders – the hospitalisations and deaths will keep happening. It’s as simple as that.
