Already and this is this is the Daily This is the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense. Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Monday, the twenty fifth of November. I'm Harry, I'm Zara. Victoria will roll out its first pill test at a music festival this summer. Thirty five thousand people attending Beyond the Valley will have access to the drug checking service for the first time as part of the state government's plans to conduct more
trials across Victoria. Health experts and youth support workers will be stationed at the pop up pill testing site to analyze drug samples and give advice to young festival goers. In today's Deep Dive, you'll hear my chat with Victoria's premieer just sin to Allen on the state's liftoff of pill testing and why she has changed her mind on drug harmt minimization.
Now, Harry, it's a really interesting topic and I'm really looking forward to jumping into your interview with the premiere. I do just want to make a note very quickly before we do this podcast that you mentioned at the top there that the pill testing will run at Beyond
the Valley and just for full transparency. Beyond the Valley is run by a group called Untitled, and Untitled our investors in the Daily OS that said, there has been absolutely zero editorial oversight by Untitled on this story, and we have run it completely separate from any relationship we
might have with them in a commercial capacity. Without out of the way, though, I do want to get into pill testing for those listening who might not be familiar, what actually is the process to get a pill tested.
So the way it works is that someone turns up to a pill testing center. They'll hand over a small quantity of the drug. It goes through a chemical analysis, which takes about fifteen minutes, and then a professional or will take the person through the results and give some personalized health advice. So you could end up being asked about your medical history or any pre existing conditions you
might have. And the whole point of pill testing is that it's meant to stop people taking dangerous substances that might exist within what people understand to be a recreational drug. I just want to be really clear. It doesn't mean that taking illegal drugs becomes legal, but this is a space where you can get professional advice and some real time information about the drugs that someone might be consuming.
It's obviously a really contentious topic, and I know that you're going to get into some of the pros and cons I guess that have been identified, but I do just want to zero in on Victoria first because that's the state that is currently undergoing this pill testing trial that you have just mentioned. How did this come to be? Why did Victoria suddenly come around to this idea of pill testing.
Well, there's been a lot of discussion about the possible of bringing in pill testing, especially in the last few years, because Victoria's seen some really high overdose numbers and it's made headlines for some mass overdoses. So, for instance, there was an incident at the hard Mission Festival, which is an electronic festival earlier this year, when nine people were
taken to hospital from a suspected overdose. Paramatics in the state also responded to more cases of overdoses in Victoria in the first three months of this year compared to all of twenty twenty three, and last year also had a high rate of deaths from overdoses that was five hundred and forty seven people in total, and in twenty twenty two there were five hundred and fifty overdose deaths
in the state. And these were all details that came through at the start of October in a report from the Victorian Coroner's Court, which is the court that looks at causes of death. And now a week after that coroner's review came out, and also after many months of fielding questions about whether they were going to do anything about pill testing, the government introduced legislation to make it legal and it passed within weeks. And now we know that Beyond the Valley is going to be the first
place to roll this out. So I wanted to ask the Victorian Premier to Cintra Allen about how this new trial is going to work, and here's that chat. Premier to Cintra Allan, thank you so much for joining the Daily.
As great to join you again, Harry.
So Beyond the Valley is going to be the first pill testing trial in Victoria. Can you just talk me through what led you to this decision?
Well, of course, Harry, as we've spoken about previously, we've made the decision to bring this pill testing pilot to the state because we know it saves lives. We know the evidence tells us that it saves lives, and we made the commitment to begin it with music festivals for this coming summer. So Beyond the Valley has been identified as one of the first sits, the first music festival sites. It's in a great part of our state, in the
Golden plain Shire, and it's a big festival. There's something like thirty five thousand attendees go every year and it's obviously mostly people under thirty. So it's exactly the sort of place where we know that this pill testing work will be effective, particularly as one of the first sites that we're rolling out here in Victoria.
So let's say festival attendee shows up on the day and wants to get a pill tested. What does that process look like.
So we'll be working with a health services provider and they will have a range of both generalists and specialist health practitioners on site. I think what's really important to emphasize here is that it will be a fairly simple and effective way for the substance to be tested. It's expected that to take about fifteen minutes and people can come with you know, it can test pills and capsules
and liquids and power. They can come and have the product tested and they'll also too And this is one of the key features behind why we know that this health intervention supports young people is that they'll also be getting some good health advice as well about both what's in the substance but also how to party safely and have a good time at the festival.
Will it be confidential and anonymous.
Absolutely absolutely. This is all part of that great health care focus that we will be providing through the health
providers that have been contracted to deliver the service. And if you also step back and think about this in that broader context too, paramedics responded to more drug overdoses at festivals in the first three months of this year than during the whole of twenty twenty three, so we know that this is this is an issue, which is why we've put legislation to the Parliament in Victoria this year and we're now starting the program with the first of the first over this coming summer.
So does this mean that beyond the Valley and some other festivals where you're hoping to have this pill testing service trialed, there will still be sniffer dogs and police cracking down and arresting people for taking and bringing drugs.
Look, the testing, the pill testing part is what is supported by the legislative framework. But let's be really clear, the possession and use of illicit substances is still illegal. That is still illegal. What the legislation provides for is a space where it can be anonymous, it can be supported, where the pills can be tested, that advice can be provided. And this is an important distinction, a really important distinction in terms of how police operationally respond and support festivals
and festival goers. That's a matter for how they respond because of course they work with the festival organizers, paramedics, ambulance services, local community and other services. So those operational decisions are a matter for police. What is being provided here is safe advice and testing of substances for festival goers.
So the normal practices of law enforcement, which can involve strip searchers for instance, will still go ahead.
Well, those are operational decisions, Harry, that are made by Victoria Police, and they would be decisions that would not sit around the pill testing site, because if you like, there is a there is a space that's created through the legislation for the pill testing to be undertaken, for it to be a space where festival goers can go and get their substances tested. And I really want to emphasize this.
Because I want we want festival goers to use this service. We really really want festival goers to use this servers because we know the evidence tells us that it saves lives. We see that from the huge body of evidence that comes out of the UK for example. So we want festival goers to use this service to know that they can come and the substance can be tested and they can get the advice. Yes, outside of the testing service, the use and possession of illicit substances is still illegal.
It's still illegal, and how police respond to those incidences are a matter for police. What we're providing is the space where the health advice can be provided.
We'll be right back with the rest of the interview just after this quick message from our sponsor. So, what does a successful pill testing service look like to you? When we sort of see the wrap up of what's happened to beyond the valley, What are those kind of signs you're looking for? You're looking at the rates of disposing drugs. Are you looking at the rate of intercepting harmful substances?
Look, there's a combination of things that we want to see. I want to see festival goers using the service first and foremost, or want to see festival goers coming and being confident that they know that they can use this service, get the advice both on the substances, but also that broader advice around how to have a great time at the festival in a really safe way. Also, two, we have the opportunity, should substances be found to be particularly harmful,
that that information is shared with festival goers. And then also too, we know that the service that is being set up can test something like two hundred samples a day, So I really want that number to be reached, and that will be with festival goers knowing that they can come and have the confidence to use the service.
And if some of those identifiable areas of success that I've outlined there, if that's not met, would you consider rolling back some of these reforms with pill testing?
Well, well, we know pill testing works. We know pill testing works and that it saves lives. We've seen that from the evidence overseas. Obviously, this is the first time it's being introduced here in Victoria, so we will over the course of this summer evaluate really carefully. The sites that this is being rolled out on were also will be moving next year to having a number of fixed locations where pill testing can be provided from around Melbourne.
If you'd asked me a few years ago, Harry on my views on this, I would have said at the time, I wasn't convinced at the time when it came to pill testing, But I have considered this more deeply as my own kids have gotten older. I've talked to other family members, people in a community. My perspectives have changed, and it really also what was a big factor in my decision was listening to parents, listening to parents of kids who had had either a really terrible experience or
kids who'd lost their mates. So it is about knowing that we've got this opportunity to keep young people safe, which is why we're rolling out this measure.
I imagine you've heard from some parents who are also a little bit concerned about pill testing though, and perhaps seeing it as a green light to taking drugs.
Yeah, well, it absolutely, it absolutely is not a green light. As I said, illegal substances remain just that they remain illegal in terms of use and possession. But we also know we also know that we can't bury our head in the sand. And we also know that young people are smart. This is one of the things that a parent told me. Young people are smart. They just want the information and we've got to give it to them.
And if we've got the opportunity to give them that information and do it in a way that might save a life, then it's absolutely worth doing.
You've spoken about your children getting to an age where they're starting to go to festivals, and just as a final thought, would you feel safer knowing that your kids would be going to a festival like Beyond the Valley and there is a pill testing service there.
Yes, this is about focusing on the health of young people because the evidence tells us it saves lives, and that's why it's worth it.
Premier de Cintra Allen, thank you so much for joining The Daily Ours.
Thanks Harry, good to talk to you.
Thank you for listening to The Daily Ours. If you enjoyed this podcast, consider giving us a follow and telling your friends about it, maybe someone that's heading off to Beyond the Valley this year that you know. We'll be back in your feeds later today with the headlines, but until then, have a great Day. My name is mad and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Calcadion woman from Gadighl country.
The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations.
We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.