Seven music fans are alive today because of pill testing at the Groovin’ The Moo festival in Canberra on the weekend.
200 punters volunteered their pills for testing, seven were found to be lethal.
#PillTesting Pilot 2.0 – what a success!! Well over 200 used the service, and of the samples tested, 7 were deemed lethal and we’re getting word that all of it was discarded.
— Take Control (@TakeControlAU) April 28, 2019
The ABC reports that six of the seven festival goers found to have lethal pills drumped their pills immediately while one took them away but said they would discard of them themselves.
The most common pill was MDMA while cocaine, ketamine and methamphetamines were also discovered.
While the testing proved a success, the greater concern is that a potentially high number of music fans could die from drugs at large social events.
Pill Testing Australia’s Gino Vambuca told the ABC, “We helped reduce drug-related harm by giving young people access to a medical service they would not have had otherwise,” he said. “The simple truth is that it is time to take practical evidence based steps to make parties and festivals safer for our kids.”
Over 140 people were arrested at the Field Day music festival in New South Wales in January. There were five deaths at festivals over summer.
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