Should Australia legalise pill testing at festivals as a harm minimisation strategy?
(A coronial hearing resulting from an increase in the number of drug-related deaths at NSW festivals last summer has generated debate concerning the introduction of pill testing at festivals. Presently prohibition strategies are favoured at festivals in Australia; however, these strategies often result in more harm than good.)
Introduction with thesis statements;
For decades, Australian government policy has taken a no tolerance approach to drug use. However, following several high-profile deaths of young people at music festivals in recent years, pill testing has emerged as a focal point of public debate regarding potential solutions to this issue. The Australian Greens party have long been proponents of such a strategy, and now the Labor party too has indicated potential support for harm minimisation. This itself follows increasing public support, including well publicised requests from the parents of young people who have died as a result of drug use at music festivals. This essay will argue that there is enough evidence that supports the efficacy of pill testing for festival goers to warrant the implementation of trials on a wider scale to determine if this is harm-minimisation solution to these fatalities. This source has been selected as it examines the nature of drug taking by young people in a contemporary context, the failure of abstinence-based education programs in reducing drug related harm in Australia, and also looks at the efficacy of pill testing programs abroad. Also, as it represents research into the matter of harm reduction via pill testing from a medical research journal. It also examines harm reduction strategies in adjacent social policy, such as tobacco and road safety, and their efficacy in having the desired. In this article, both festival organisers and festival goers are approached directly regarding potential responses to a ‘soft’ approach to drug use. For example, the organiser of major festival Stereo sonic discusses how the current approach prevents people who wish to dispose of their drugs without risk of legal penalty currently cannot do so. Firstly, by examining the success of such programs in reducing the number of deaths in countries where such programs have been implemented. Secondly, the claim that the decriminalisation of ‘soft’ approach to drug use causes and increase in use will be examined in relation to other related harm minimisation strategies over the last few decades, Thirdly, that the criminalisation and no tolerance approach to drug use actually results in riskier drug taking behaviours and prevents the implementation of strategies that would prevent the use of illicit substances
Topic sentences with in-text references.
1 Firstly, by examining the success of such programs in reducing the number of deaths in countries where such programs have been implemented
2 Secondly, the claim that the decriminalisation of ‘soft’ approach to drug use causes and increase in use will be examined in relation to other related harm minimisation strategies over the last few decades (Komesaroff, Lloyd-Jones, 2019).
3 Thirdly, that the criminalisation and no tolerance approach to drug use actually results in riskier drug taking behaviours and prevents the implementation of strategies that would prevent the use of illicit substances (Gerrard, Johnston, 2016).