Victorian parliamentary committee makes recommendations on sniffer dogs and pill testing at music festivals

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into drug law reform in the state has made 50 recommendations, two of them relevant to those attending music festivals.

They cover drug sniffer dogs and pill-testing at such events.

The music industry has long warned that dogs could lead to alarmed punters swallowing their entire stash to avoid being apprehended.

In 2015, NSW Greens member Jenny Leong, put forward a bill to stop having drug sniffer dogs at festivals, bars and clubs in NSW.

The Review Committee recommended that “Victoria Police commission an independent evaluation of the use of drug detection dogs at music festivals and other public spaces to determine their effectiveness in deterring the use and trafficking of illicit substances, and any unintended consequences or risk of harms resulting from this strategy.”

The idea of pill testing at Victorian festivals was also brought up.

But it fell short of suggesting that it be applied to patrons, to check how toxic their drugs are – a process which drug advocates say can save lives and stop accidental overdoses.

So far the Victorian government and police have taken a strong stance against it.

The Committee took the approach that testing at festivals should only be for medical and police personnel when treating overdoses.

“Drug checking services can also enhance monitoring of the illicit drug market, particularly for new psychoactive substances," stated the report.

“Such services, which are common across Europe, can be located onsite at music festivals or offsite at fixed sites.

“The Committee heard there can be a range of benefits with such approaches, such as reduced harms from illicit substance use and improved monitoring of the illicit drug market.

“It also heard of potential issues of concern, such as perceptions of ‘safe’ illicit substance use and technological limitations with drug checking equipment.

“The Committee also discussed the option of ‘back of house’ or ‘halfway house’ testing at appropriate venues or festivals where police, health authorities and harm reduction organisations work together to identify substances of concern through testing, and notify patrons and the broader community through alerts where appropriate. “

The Committee recommended that “The Victorian Government work with the Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and DanceWize to facilitate the availability of an onsite drug testing unit for health and law enforcement authorities at an appropriate music festival to be used in the event of a suspected overdose or other serious adverse effects due to an illicit substance.

“The unit would not be public facing and its purpose is to test substances to determine their composition to assist health authorities treat the patient and, where appropriate, release a public alert to prevent further incidents. The unit will operate as part of the early warning system.”

Committee chair, Geoff Howard MP revealed over 230 submissions were received.

Their recommendations made up frank discussions between committee members as to why people use drugs.

These included researching the benefits of relaxing cannabis laws for recreational use, seeing possession of drugs as “a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue”, and investigate the threshold of how much possession constitutes the difference between trafficking and personal recreational use.

The 50 recommendations will now be now considered by the Andrews government.

Minister for Mental Health, Martin Foley, said the government would respond in coming months.

"These are serious and complex issues and we will give this report and its findings the consideration it deserves," a departmental spokesman said.

The report and recommendations are available here.