Australia’s first pill-testing trial has been hailed as a success by drug reform advocates after it screened out two deadly samples, and found that half the samples tested were adulterated with other substances, according to a member of the group who ran the trial at a Canberra music festival.
Matt Noffs, a harm reduction advocate who has long pushed for pill-testing at festivals, said on Twitter 128 participants and 85 samples had been tested at the Groovin the Moo festival on Sunday.
Fifty percent of the samples were pure MDMA, but the other half consisted of “other” substances such as lactose, sweetener or paint, he said. He described two of the samples as “deadly”.
“So, harm reduced. We did it,” Noffs said.
The trial was run by the the STA-SAFE Consortium, a group of nongovernment organisations lead by Harm Reduction Australia, of which Noffs is a member.
Drugs were tested by health professionals using an infrared spectrophotometer in a mobile laboratory in one of the festival’s health tents.
Participants were invited to dispose of their drugs in an amnesty bin afterwards.
Emergency doctor David Caldicott, a STA-SAFE member, told ABC Radio the two highly toxic samples contained the “absolutely lethal” substance…
