Image via Bass In The Grass //
Makes sense…
In some festival-related news that doesn’t involve the shittiness of COVID, there are mounting calls for pill testing to be put into effect at this year’s iteration of Bass in the Grass. The push comes as thousands head to the Northern Territory for the festival in May, with the measure involving drug checking where festival-goers give a small portion of their drugs to an on-site forensic chemist, who can then ascertain what chemicals are in the drug.
Recent years have seen the controversial measure be flirted with but rarely put into effect, with the ACT’s Groovin The Moo being the only event to trial the move. However, last week the Northern Territory’s Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he was open to the idea of a pill testing trial, but is looking into the evidence to see whether it was a legitimate measure, saying “We will look at what’s happening down south and make an informed decision off the back of that.”
It seems like it’s more necessary, Alcohol and other Drug Agencies in the Territory (AADANT) Executive officer Peter Burnheim has laid out a bunch of reasons the measure is more needed this year, most prominently pointing to the fact that half of the 14,000 punters in attendance aren’t from the area.
“We’re getting patrons coming in who are used to a different party scene, they might have access to different substances, and they might intend to bring those up for the festival,” Burnheim said. “We don’t want anyone getting hurt and we certainly don’t want any Territorians getting caught up in substances that have come from somewhere else and causing them trouble.”
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The Pill Testing Australia organisation has already offered to fly in expert staff and their latest equipment to trial the measure (all for free), offering to set up a drug testing station inside the festival, stating that their expects will be able to “talk to you about what it is you think you bought, do you have any other medication you’ve been taking, have you been drinking.”
It’ll definitely be interesting to se whether the measure is actually put into effect, especially with the festival being just ten weeks away and being questioned by the NT police. Still, it’ll be a huge step for the Aussie festival scene if it’s actually pulled off. For now, check out a brief explanation on how pill testing works below.
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