December 3, 2024

pill testing

Pill testing saves lives

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As a drug and alcohol nurse with more than 10 years’ experience in the field, it baffles me that we still have to debate the evidence that pill testing saves lives, and minimises the harm associated with drug use.

With another hot summer forecast, young people are inevitably going to head out 
to festivals and, yes, they will take 
illicit substances.

I cannot for the life of me understand why the NSW Government is not implementing measures we know minimise harm.

You could listen to me, a nurse for two decades, including 10 years working in drug and alcohol, or you could listen to the numerous experts in the field. There are also international examples of successful implementation of pill testing. If that’s not enough, you can listen to the findings of our very own coroner’s inquest into the 
six deaths at NSW music festivals 
in 2019, which supported pill-testing measures.

For many of those who use pill-testing services, it represents the first time they have had a frank 
and honest discussion with a healthcare professional about 
safer drug use, and the risks and side effects of taking said drug. 
This is a conversation that would 
never happen without pill-
testing services.

As nurses and midwives, we proudly work in an evidence-based health system. It’s time the NSW Government put evidence into practice and implement pill testing as a priority.

Annie Smoker, RN

Clinicians call for pill testing trial

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Drug checking can help keep people safe, say health professionals.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Health Services Union, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation have called on the state government to start drug checking in NSW.

This follows the deaths of two young people at a recent music festival, and with predictions of a hot summer ahead.

NSWNMA General Secretary Shaye Candish says delaying testing would put lives at risk and the government should listen to the scientific evidence.

“Harm minimisation is the best-practice approach, and it recognises people should be supported to reduce harm to themselves and the wider community.

“Pill testing is an effective step to prevent overdoses and unnecessary deaths. It can also help people make informed decisions about taking drugs and lead to behavioural changes.”

The health group says an evaluated pilot program will also provide vital information for further discussion at the NSW Drug Summit next year.

In late 2019, an NSW coroner recommended the state introduce pill testing.

Harriet Grahame found “there was significant evidence” that “intensive and punitive drug policing operations” were increasing drug-related risks and harm.

Drug checking already operates in 28 countries around the world, including Australia.

Nurses and midwives join chorus of health workers in calling for pilot drug checking program

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Nurses and midwives have joined doctors and other health professionals in calling for the NSW government to urgently set up drug checking to help keep people safe during the upcoming festival season.

Recent deaths of music festival patrons, predictions of a hot summer and continued inaction by the government has prompted the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) to join the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Royal Australiasian College of Physicians, Health Services Union, and Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation in urging the NSW government to commence a statewide pilot drug checking program.

Drug checking – colloquially known as pill testing – is a proven, effective step we can take to help people make informed and potentially life-saving decisions about taking drugs. In drug checking services, health professionals provide expert harm reduction advice and help people manage the risks of taking drugs.

Shaye Candish, NSWNMA General Secretary, said it was time for serious action by the government regarding this life-and-death issue.

“As health professionals, we understand the importance of listening to evidence. Harm minimisation is the best-practice approach, and it recognises people should be supported to reduce harm to themselves and the wider community,” Ms Candish said.

“Pill testing is an effective step to prevent overdoses and unnecessary deaths, it can also help people make informed decisions about taking drugs and lead to behavioural changes.”

Dr Hester Wilson, Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Specific Interests Addiction Medicine group echoed this sentiment.

“People don’t use substances to come to harm, and they do change their plans when they find out from substance safety checking that what they have is dangerous or more potent, and they are safer as a result,” Dr Wilson said.

“This is evidence-based policy, and it will save lives.”

Drug checking already operates in 28 countries around the world, including Australia and is supported by a strong evidence base that shows it helps people make better decisions for their own wellbeing.

Supportive unions and medical colleges have penned an open letter to the NSW government, which was delivered to the Premier today.

Why I am an advocate for pill testing

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Annie Smoker is a Drug and Alcohol nurse based in NSW. She shares her reasons for being an advocate for pill testing and harm minimisation strategies for substance use. 

It is well known that “zero tolerance” policies to drugs don’t work. Our current laws and drug policy clearly don’t prevent drug use or the harms associated with them, and they are not based on evidence or the science of drugs. Whether we like it or not, people take drugs, and unfortunately the unknown contents of illegal pills made in backyard labs can indeed cause great harm.

Advocating for pill testing is not a question of “do I support drug use?”, but instead “will this policy make people safer?”

We can reduce harm to the community and our staff by advocating for pill testing in NSW. Here are four good reasons:

1) Pill testing changes behaviour.

Pill testing provides an opportunity for information to change users’ attitudes and behaviour towards drugs. Research from Austria shows half of those who had their drugs tested said the results affected their consumption choices, with two-thirds saying they wouldn’t consume the drug and would warn off their friends if tests showed their pills could be harmful.

Evidence from overseas and pill testing trials here in Australia show users often ditch their pills once they know they contain harmful chemicals.

2) Pill testing has been shown to change the black market.

Research from existing programs shows that once users have access to information on the contents of their pills, particularly harmful products swiftly leave the market, and that over time fewer harmful ingredients are found, suggesting that drug testing does indeed improve safety for users.

3) Pill testing creates opportunities for support and intervention

Pill testing allows for education and engagement of the community, and allows an opportunity for volunteers and health workers to speak to users and refer them to other services if need be – a conversation which would never happen with a policeman holding a leash.

Pill testing is a chance for drug services to engage with recreational drug users that may be cultivating high-risk behaviours that lead towards acute drug problems. Zero tolerance policies provide no such opportunity for contact and follow-up with this population.

4) Pill testing can provide data and an early warning system about drugs

Pill testing allows researchers to capture long-term data about the actual substances present in the drug market, allowing evidence-based drug policy to be further refined. It may serve as an early warning system beyond immediate users if particularly dangerous substances are found. With new variants of chemical intoxicants appearing more rapidly, the usefulness of such a system will only grow in future.

Towards a safer future

Pill testing is not a new idea. Drug checking operates successfully around the world in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France. Australia is lauded for our progressive and evidence-based approach to harm minimisation and initiatives such as safe injection centres. But we are not ahead of the game on this. We need to catch up.

Doctors, lawyers, drug and alcohol professionals, and even families of people who have tragically died from drug overdose are all getting behind pill testing. It enjoys broad support among young people, with 82% of respondents aged between 16 and 25 years surveyed for the Australian National Council on Drugs in 2013 supporting its introduction.

Just because current laws stand in the way of pill testing, we should not be deterred from standing up for this policy that has a proven record of better outcomes for all. It is our responsibility as nurses and midwives to challenge unjust laws when they pertain to health.

We should actively promote pill testing and commence political lobbying. We will not be the first, we will simply be joining our voice to the many voices already supporting this sensible policy. We need to take a stand, as we have done many times before, to make our community safer.

Pill testing is not a magic wand. There will always be a risk of harm when consuming any substance. But we can no longer let government spokespeople blithely say “we’ve done all we can” to address drug-related deaths when they refuse to implement a policy that will work to reduce harm. I am a staunch advocate of pill testing, for good reason, and I invite all nurses and midwives to join me.

Read more on Nurse Uncut:

Why we support pill testing

Reducing alcohol-related harm

Reducing harm from alcohol

Why we support pill testing

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With the debate currently raging nationally on the need for pill testing, the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association has come out in favour of of harm minimisation strategies in relation to substance use.

It is well known that a blanket ban on illicit drugs and the application of criminal law to control substance use in Australia is an approach that is failing. There is a need to explore alternative models that can assist in the control of drug use and reduce the occurrence of adverse events relating to illicit drug use.

Pill testing is a harm reduction approach that provides substance users with information that they might otherwise not have been able to access and allows substance users the opportunity to make informed decisions regarding their substance use.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) is an advocate for interventions that promote harm minimisation in relation to substance use. The NSWNMA supports regulated pill testing.

The NSWNMA has long been a leader in its advocacy for harm minimisation to protect the public and has demonstrated a harm minimisation approach by supporting:

•           The Injecting Room, Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre.

•           NSW Drug Law Reform on Cannabis use.

•           Needle and syringe programs.

•           Opiate Antagonist Treatment for people using opioids.

•           Retention of measures to reduce alcohol related violence in the Sydney CBD and Newcastle.

Adequate resources for drug and alcohol treatment, management and preventative education is required, with recurrent funding to ensure treatment options and ongoing support is readily available and able to be maintained.

The NSWNMA Position Statement on Harm Reduction can be found here.

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