Key Points
- Queensland, ACT and Victoria are the only Australian jurisdictions to have legalised pill testing.
- More than one-third of young women had taken an illicit drug in the last 12 months, a survey showed.
- Calls for standardised pill testing programs at festivals increased after the deaths of two people in 2019.
Queensland is one of only three jurisdictions in the nation to have legalised pill testing and its state Labor government hopes to help school leavers celebrate safely.
The Schoolies service was offered after national data showed women aged 18 to 24 were taking illicit drugs at the same rate as young men for the first time since records began.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey also showed more than one-third of young women had taken an illicit drug in the last 12 months — a 27 per cent increase over five years.
Queensland committed $1 million over two years to fund pill testing. Source: AAP / Russell Freeman
Queensland’s first pill testing service over the Easter weekend where 250 people had substances assessed.
Queensland committed $1 million over two years to fund pill testing, with fixed sites established in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
“The LNP does not support the soft on drug approach by the Labor Party in Queensland,” deputy leader Jarrod Bleijie said.
Source Agencies
