The pill testing debate is in the spotlight in Victoria after overdoses at music festivals on back-to-back weekends in Melbourne.

Pill testing advocates have long argued the service could reduce the harm of drug taking at festivals by helping users better understand the substances they may be consuming.

Trials of pill testing facilities are already underway in the ACT and Queensland — the first of their kind in the country.

The Victorian government, however, is showing no signs of following suit, stating that pill testing is not a silver bullet solution and could instead encourage further harmful behaviours.

Here's what you need to know.

What's happened in Victoria?

On January 6, nine people attending the Hardmission Festival in Melbourne's north-west were rushed to hospital, with eight requiring intubation after ingesting the party drug MDMA.

Three people also had methamphetamine in their blood, with the Department of Health saying the people did "not appear to have consumed it intentionally".

Victoria's Department of Health subsequently confirmed the hospitalisations did not come as a result of a single contaminated "batch", but as a combination of drug intake, weather conditions and physical exertion.

The following weekend, on January 12, two women were taken to hospital after suspected drug use at Juicy Fest in Melbourne.

Where does the state government stand?

The Victorian government has held a longstanding position against pill testing, with former premier Daniel Andrews vowing it would never be introduced under his leadership.

On Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan told ABC Radio Melbourne there were no current plans for her government to introduce pill testing but she was seeking further expert advice following the latest hospitalisations. 

"I am seeking some further advice from the health department about what we're seeing over this summer period," she said.  

"I think it's important to examine the evidence and advice and consider that in the policy setting that we have across all of our alcohol and drug policy measures, which is taking a harm minimisation approach, looking at the safety of people going to events."

It's a slight shift in tone from the weekend when Deputy Premier Ben Carroll said the state government's position remained unchanged.

"Our message is very clear … don't take drugs in the first place," he said.

"Harm minimisation is a really important area. We obviously have looked at rolling out a range of factors including pill testing.

"It has gone to parliament and it has been investigated, but we do not believe that is the measure that is needed right now."

The opposition has also maintained a hardline stance against pill testing trials, pressuring the Allan government to adopt a more efficient emergency drug alert system instead.

What about the rest of Australia?

As it currently stands, Queensland and the ACT are the only two Australian states to have legalised the rollout of pill testing.

In July 2022, Canberra launched a six-month trial of Australia's first free, legal, pill testing service, CanTEST.

After a successful initial run, the service was then extended until August of 2023, and extended again to December 2024. 

In February last year, Queensland followed the ACT's lead, with a program based on the CanTEST model.

In New South Wales, following the death of two men at a musical festival in Sydney last September, Health Minister Ryan Park said pill testing would not be a "fix-all" to prevent overdoses. But he said his government was working to make the events "as safe as possible".

 

The Victorian government has been firm on its stance on pill testing.(Supplied: Curtin University)

In the Northern Territory, former chief minister Michael Gunner said in 2021 that he was open to the idea of pill testing if the decision was backed by evidence. However, the current government is yet to take any steps to legislate it.

In Tasmania, the death of a man at the Panama festival in March last year sparked calls for the implementation of a model similar to that of ACT's — but the Tasmanian government remains opposed.

Former WA premier Mark McGowan did not budge from his "tough on drugs" approach to pill testing after ruling it out in 2019. His predecessor, Premier Roger Cook, hasn't either.

In South Australia, the government issued a response to a question in parliament regarding pill testing in November 2022, stating it remained committed to not supporting pill testing.

Who supports pill testing?

Last year, Victorian state coroner John Cain recommended the government introduce drug testing after the death of a 26-year-old man who had taken a "highly potent" form of MDMA.

"It is impossible to know whether, had a drug checking service existed, Mr P would have submitted a sample of an MDMA pill for testing before taking it," Mr Cain wrote.

"A drug checking service would have at least created the opportunity for him to do so, and for him to receive tailored harm-reduction information." 

In October of last year, the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA), in collaboration with RMIT University, released a statement supported by 77 health and community agencies calling on the Victorian government to legislate a drug checking system and an enhanced public alert system.

VAADA program manager Scott Drummond renewed the call in light of the festival overdoses in recent weeks.

"It's no panacea, but as a proven harm reduction initiative, it's very important that we introduce something," Mr Drummond said.

"We're in the festival season right now … there are festivals every weekend. I'd rather not be sitting here next weekend … talking about overdoses or even deaths."

The government's restated position follows the introduction of the Pill Testing Pilot for Drug Harm Reduction Bill by the Victorian Greens in November of last year, which saw the party joining the Animal Justice Party, and Legalise Cannabis Victoria — the first bill to be co-sponsored by the three parties.

The bill remains before the parliament for consideration.

What does pill testing actually tell people?

As per the CanTEST model, pill testing operates on a harm-reduction basis only.

This means while the facility can test the chemical compounds of a drug intended for personal use, it cannot guarantee their safety.

"Illicit drugs, including MDMA, are unsafe and testing can’t guarantee that you won’t suffer an adverse reaction by taking them," the CanTEST website states.

The service does, however, offer "tailored information, harm reduction advice and counselling based on the test results", helping potential users understand what compounds their pills are made from, and how these chemicals may behave in their system.

This information can be relayed back to users in as quickly as 20 minutes.

Stephanie Stephens, the acting CEO of Directions Health Services, one of the bodies overseeing CanTEST, says the data collected by the service speaks for itself.

"We know people from other jurisdictions are watching this data, and we know that people change their behaviour and drug consumption in response to having this kind of information," she said.

"So we anticipate the ripple effects will be Australia-wide."