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\n\tNext month\u2019s Rabbit Eats Lettuce<\/a> festival will etch its name in the history books as the first event in an Australian state to offer pill-testing services. <\/p>\n \n\tSet for the Easter long weekend, from March 28-April 1, the electronic and dance-specialist fest is at home near Warwick in the south-east corridor of Queensland \u2014 the first Australian state or territory to commit to supporting pill testing on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n \n\tPartygoers will have access to free, voluntary, and confidential pill testing by an \u201cappropriately qualified chemist,\u201d reads a statement from state government, which is tipping in nearly A$1 million ($660,000) in investment over two years.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI am thrilled to be supporting new and innovative services to help reduce harms from illicit drug use,\u201d comments minister for health, mental health and ambulance service Shannon Fentiman. <\/p>\n \n\tThese services, Fentiman continues, \u201care all about harm minimization; we don\u2019t want people ending up in our emergency departments \u2013 or worse losing their life.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to figures published by Queensland government, 2,231 drug-induced deaths were reported in Australia in 2021\u2013 the equivalent of five deaths each day.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat\u2019s 2,231 deaths too many,\u201d Fentiman continues, \u201cand we know this number will continue to grow if we don\u2019t act now.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2019, two people died after consuming drugs<\/a> at Rabbit Eats Lettuce.<\/p>\n \n\tHarm Reduction Australia is contracted to deliver \u201cseveral\u201d festival-based services in 2024 and 2025 following an open market tender process. The state government has also engaged the University of Queensland to conduct an evaluation of the services and to develop a statewide monitoring process.<\/p>\n \n\tAlso, through a healthcare partnership, fixed-site services will operate at two locations in south-east Queensland, including one in Bowen Hills, central Brisbane, and \u201cat least one festival-based service\u201d in 2024.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a \u201cstep in the right direction in reducing drug-related harm,\u201d Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival organizer Eric Lamir tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation<\/a>, and, through the process, police have been \u201cextremely supportive\u201d in preparing for the gathering. Data captured from chemical tests will be shared with the festival\u2019s medical staff, which \u201cmeans our paramedics and doctors will be able to have up-to-date data on what drugs might be circulating at the event.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe public debate on pill testing in Australia has rumbled on for years, and entered a trial phase for the first time at the Groovin the Moo festival in the Australian Capital Territory in April 2018<\/a>, where two potentially deadly samples were identified and half the drugs tested were found to contain no psychoactive substances.<\/p>\n \n\tOff the back of that trial and others in Canberra, Queensland developed testing protocols, and gave the green light for chemically-checking drugs in February 2023<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWith pill testing services rolling out proper at the 15th edition of Rabbits Eat Lettuce, an \u201cimportant milestone\u201d is notched \u201cin the ongoing efforts of Queensland to reduce drug related harms,\u201d comments a spokesperson for Pill Testing Australia, \u201cand we know the patrons of the festival and their families and friends will greatly appreciate the availability of this vital public health service.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRead more here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n