Mobile pill testing is on its way to music festivals across Victoria.
Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt announced pill testing will be available at a mix of single-day and multi-day events over the coming months, including Spilt Milk (6 December), Dangerous Goods 6XXL (24 January), and Pitch Music and Arts Festival (6-10 March), with further events to be announced soon.
The service is completely free, confidential and staffed by an experienced team of experts who provide health information to help people make safer, more informed decisions.
The mobile service can test a range of drugs and if a high-risk substance is detected, the service works with organisers to rapidly warn partygoers through social media and event signage.
It follows successful mobile pill testing at five major music festivals last summer, where almost 1,400 samples were tested with 11 per cent of samples not what people expected their drugs to be.
Last season, 10 drug notifications were issued across the five events, with two escalating to statewide advisories.
“The results from last festival season speak for themselves: pill testing works. It doesn’t encourage young people to use drugs but allows them to see what’s really in their substances and make informed health decisions,” Ms Stitt said.
“With a rise in dangerous synthetic opioids, this service is more important than ever – it offers a sensible health-led approach to reduce drug harms, while also delivering critical drug surveillance information.”
The Victorian Pill Testing Service fixed site in Fitzroy will also expand its hours of operation over summer.
From 1 December, the fixed site will operate with extended hours on Thursdays and Fridays.
The service will also be open on additional days ahead of New Year’s Eve including Monday 22 December and Tuesday 23 December, as well as Monday 29 December, Tuesday 30 December and Wednesday 31 December.
