Pill testing at music festivals in Tasmania has not received support from the state government but several patrons at the Marion Bay Falls Festival were in support of the safety initiative.
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The Examiner asked five different groups of people during the music festival if they thought pill testing should be introduced and why, only one person opposed the initiative.
The main message of the nine people in support was harm-minimisation, with the view people would not stop taking illicit drugs but they could make an informed decision about what they were taking.
"It saves people from dying...there should be the option at least," one female said.
"A girl like me could...die because she doesn't know what she's taking and she's young."
The one man who voiced his opposition to testing said he supported drug education but not testing as he believed it condoned drug use.
Tasmania Police confirmed only two arrests were made during the three-day event, with neither in relation to drug possession or supply, and nine people tested positive to drugs during their RBT operation.
In March representatives of the festival, Dark Mofo and Party in the Paddock met with Pill Testing Australia in Hobart about the possibility of trialing a testing station.
A pill testing station would allow a qualified counsellor or peer worker to ask the person what substance they think they have and to talk about the risk of drug taking before a sample is provided to a qualified chemist.
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The sample is analysed and will identify what substances are in it, before a doctor talks the individual through the known dangers of consuming the identified substances
The counsellor or peer worker will then direct them to an amnesty bin and at no stage is someone told an illicit drug is safe or is use encouraged.
The state government's main opposition is the belief it will condone drug taking and would give people a false sense of security.
However several health professionals and organisations across Australia have supported testing for harm-minimisation since the idea was raised in early 2018.
Tasmania's Greens proposed legislation supporting the idea last year by allowing people who had their drugs tested to not be charged but it was voted down in parliament.
In November NSW Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame recommended introducing pill testing in the wake of six drug-related deaths at festivals but the NSW government disregarded her recommendation and offered amnesty bins instead.
Pill testing was first trialled in April last year at the ACT leg of Groovin' the Moo, with 85 samples tested.
PLEASE NOTE THE VIDEO IS RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES AS IT CONTAINS SOME COARSE LANGUAGE:
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