Independent drug-testing tents at festivals 'a fantastic idea', says Police Minister Stuart Nash
Independent testing tents that let you know what's in recreational drugs could become a regular feature at New Zealand festivals, Police Minister Stuart Nash says.
"I think they're a fantastic idea and should be installed at all our festivals," he said. "But I need to see how it works and better understand the implications of it first."
The idea behind recreational drug testing is not to stop drug use but reduce harm, by letting consumers of illicit pills know if the drugs they are taking have been mixed with other dangerous chemicals.
"The war on drugs hasn't worked in the past 20 years, so it's time to change to a more compassionate and restorative approach," Nash said.
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"That doesn't mean we won't tackle organised crime, in fact, we will up the focus on those importing it and selling it. But with users we want to look at it from a health perspective."
Nash envisages the tents would be independent of police, but officers would work closely with agencies like the New Zealand Drug Foundation so all were aware of the guidelines.
"We know young people are taking them, so we have to be pragmatic about it and not bury our head in the sand.
"If someone is dealing they will be taken through the justice system. But if it was someone who has one or two pills, you don't want them to get a criminal record for a bad decision."
It makes more sense to treat the situation from a health perspective and let them know what's in the drugs, he said.
During this Christmas and New Year break, Nash drove from his home in Napier to observe police testing pills taken from Gisborne's Rhythm and Vine Festival.
"There were a batch of pink pills that had not one ounce of drugs in them ... another pill was 60 per cent sugar, while some contained pesticides."
Nash said drug testing at festivals in Australia and the United Kingdom had dropped hospitalisation rates by 95 per cent.
The move would be supported by Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick. In October she said it was clear recreational drug use at festivals was not going to stop no matter how hardline the approach.
Drug testing has taken place at some Kiwi festivals but currently exists in something of a legal grey area, as the Misuse of Drugs Act makes it illegal to knowingly permit drug use at any premises.
"This has resulted in unnecessary tragedy, with unknown users ingesting unknown substances, at times costing emergency health sector resources, at worst costing lives," Swarbrick said.
During the last festival season, KnowYourStuff found Fentanyl, a potentially deadly opiate, had made it onto New Zealand's shores, and that what was sold as MDMA was often in fact bath salts.
"When a dangerous or deadly chemical comes up, KnowYourStuff is currently unable to notify the public because of [the current law]. They're also unable to effectively let festival-goers know they are on site."
TESTING AT FESTIVALS ABROAD
More than 8000 people came forward to have their drugs tested at music festivals in the UK this summer, according to the BBC.
Some festivals in England had front-of-house services provided at which festival-goers can have their drugs tested anonymously.
The main drugs checked were MDMA, ketamine and cocaine.
Meanwhile in Australia, the first pill-testing trial was hailed as a tremendous success by Canberra's chief health officer, police commissioner, paramedics and drug reform advocates.
The trial screened out two potentially deadly samples and found that half the drugs tested at a Canberra's Groovin' the Moo music festival in April contained no psychoactive substances at all.
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