Pill testing at music festivals: is it evidence‐based harm reduction?

Recent pill‐related deaths of young people at music festivals in Australia have led to a concerted push for on‐site pill testing as a means for preventing such events. However, whether pill testing (also termed ‘safety checking’) is an effective harm reduction strategy remains uncertain. This narrat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Internal medicine journal 2020-04, Vol.50 (4), p.395-402
Main Authors: Scott, Ian A., Scott, Russ J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Australia
evidence of efficacy
Harm Reduction
Holidays
Humans
Illicit Drugs
Music
Music festivals
pill testing
Public health
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Summary:Recent pill‐related deaths of young people at music festivals in Australia have led to a concerted push for on‐site pill testing as a means for preventing such events. However, whether pill testing (also termed ‘safety checking’) is an effective harm reduction strategy remains uncertain. This narrative review concludes that pill testing currently lacks evidence of efficacy sufficient to justify publicly funded national roll‐out of on‐site pill‐testing programmes. Australian governments, addiction specialists and public health experts should collaborate in conducting properly designed field studies aimed at confirming clear benefits from such programmes in reducing pill‐related harm.
ISSN:1444-0903
1445-5994
DOI:10.1111/imj.14742