Face of Nation : The Greens are pushing for a pill testing trial in Victoria to combat overdose deaths at music festivals. Under the proposed laws, a 24-month trial could begin as early as 2020, with scope to be extended for another four years.
The bill, first flagged in February, is named in memory of 34-year-old Daniel Buccianti, who died at the Rainbow Serpent music festival after taking LSD in 2012. It would create a mobile facility to test drugs at festivals, with amnesty bins available for party-goers to ditch the substances. “We know that most people choose to throw out their drugs when informed that they contain harmful substances,” the Green’s drug law reform spokesman, Tim Read, said.
A fixed laboratory would also be created for year-round testing. Mr Buccianti’s mother, Adriana, supports the proposal and says no parent should have to go through what she has. “But in the last 12 months, at least five other families have lost their child from drug overdoses,” she said. The Labor Andrews government is opposed to pill testing.
