A state government has been slammed for abandoning permanent pill-testing clinics after extremely potent synthetic opioids were found in Australian wastewater for the first time.
The announcement marks a major win for drug reform advocates who have long called for pill testing in the state.
Dr Kerry Chant pushed the premier to think beyond pill-testing after young Sydneysiders unknowingly inhaled synthetic opioids through vapes.
Paramedics were called to the Beyond the Valley festival after a man in his 20s suffered a drug overdose.
From this weekend,festival-goers will be able to get their drugs tested confidentially to make sure they are taking what they think they are taking.
Premier Chris Minns has conceded there is an “essential contradiction” in allowing a 12-month pill-testing trial while still expecting police to enforce the law.
After years of calls for pill-testing services,a 12-month trial in time for the summer music festival season in early 2025 will be unveiled on Thursday.
MPs including the parliamentary secretary for health have put their names to an open letter calling on their own government to overhaul drug policy in NSW.
As the drug summit unfolded,it became dominated by the one topic the government wanted off the table:decriminalisation.
The outcomes of the NSW drug summit will most probably will reflect the Minns government’s lack of enthusiasm for reform.