Do you think pill testing at festivals should be made available (Australia)

Question

Currently in Australia there is debate about whether or not pill testing at festivals should be made legal and available to party goers. 
There have been quite a few deaths at festivals in the recent months due to drugs (mostly pills) and most recently a 19 year old woman who “knew something was wrong” before arriving at hospital then later dying from a suspected overdose at a festival. 
Personally I feel as though pill testing should be made legal and available and would save so many lives and really people have and are always going to take drugs or find alternative ways to get high and trying to change that just won’t work no matter what. 
A lot of these people who take drugs are youngsters experimenting like the majority of us have done, myself included. And a lot of pills going around today have not been properly tested and have added chemicals and are being sold as something else. 
What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think pill testing should be made legal and available to party goers ? Why and why not ?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I’m all about harm reduction. If people are choosing to use drugs, I’d much rather see them using safe ones.

Answer

Absolutely.
They’re going to do drugs regardless. This testing has been proven to save lives!
Not only does it prevent people from taking laced drugs, it’s also been proven that people reported taking less than they planned after having the testing done and being educated on how to prevent overdoses.

Answer

Yes. They make test strips to see if your drink has been spiked. Why not your pills?

Answer

Ehhh I’ll say yes. But I’m not in love with the whole concept. That’s just not my lifestyle, though. I don’t understand taking pills for recreational reasons. It’s bizarre to me. But I don’t want anyone to die. So sure.

Answer

Im going to be the odd one and say no. It feels like encouraging drug use. I get the whole “they are going to do it anyway” argument but everyone who experiments or does drugs knows theres a risk of overdose or death. I feel like i sound like a dick but it just doesnt sit right with me... how about lets check everyone for drugs before they go into a festival rather then encourage the use. Then again that may be no good either considering people are very good at hiding them. Ugh i dont know.

Answer

I’d rather it not be necessary, but since it is, I support it. I don’t want to see anyone die when it’s so easy preventable.

Answer

Fuck yes. People are always going to take pills at festival, so we should make it as safe as we can. I’m all for harm reduction 👌🏼
My partner’s sister has recently turned 18 and is very much into festivals. I worry she’s going to become another statistic.

Answer

I believe that drugs should be legalized and regulated anyway so yes.

Answer

I’m all for it

Answer

Are these pills typically illegal outside of this occasion at a festival where you think there is going to be this ‘safe’ experimentation allowed?
The problem I imagine with this is that a young adult tries something at a festival, likes it, then thinks ‘now I know what to take and I’ll be fine’.. and goes on to use it elsewhere with various different potential results... 
It’s not my lifestyle to have ever experimented with substances not prescribed to me by a doctor, and I don’t support anything that normalizes it or makes it seem like less a risk to a young impressionable person

Do you think pill testing at festivals should be made available (Australia)

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