ONE DEATH and two more likely overdoses from a music festival west of Willaura, has renewed urgent calls to allow on-site pill testing at such events.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Spilt Milk in Canberra marked the return of pill testing in late November, however, this move was not legal at the major one-day Spilt Milk Ballarat event on December 3.
Pitch Music and Arts Festival in Mafeking was cancelled on Sunday, March 10, due to dangerous heatwave conditions and extreme fire danger - especially given the fires in the Beaufort region from a fortnight earlier have been contained but still blazing.
Festival organisers had also issued a statement via social media they were "deeply saddened" to learn a "People of the Pitch" had died and that this would be upsetting for festival-goers who were also trying to leave early and get home safe.
A 23-year-old had been airlifted in a critical condition to the Alfred Hospital Hospital in Melbourne in the early hours of Sunday, but later died. Two other men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were reportedly also taken in a stable condition to East Grampians Health Service after suspected overdoses.
"We are devastated that this has occurred at an event where community has been a driving force over the last seven years," the Pitch statement read.
The Victorian Greens say the man's death should be a trigger for Premier Jacinta Allan to "shift gears and finally sets up pill testing".
This comes amid a rise in the number of new psychoactive substances detected worldwide with the newer synthetic opioids easier to produce and often added to traditional illicit substances. Often this means people do not know exactly what or how strong the substance is they are taking.
"Even with pure MDMA we've seen how extreme heat can deal a deadly blow. So with untested drugs circulating, this was truly a disaster waiting to happen," spokesperson Aiv Puglielli said.
"...If we want to prevent more overdoses we need pill testing established on-site at music festivals as a matter of urgency."
Golden Plains Music Festival in Meredith has continued to play out this long weekend.
Organisers for Golden Plains' sister event Meredith Music Festival have been vocal in support for introducing pill testing at such festivals.
Golden Plains' Little Golden Booklet festival guide urges festival-goers to take care of their well-being and, if intending to take drugs or alcohol, to never source such substances at the festival.
The booklet also makes clear for people to look after each other, to know the risks in taking multiple substances (especially in hot weather) and has an extensive list of on-site and resource supports.
Victoria's health department also has a warning about stimulant use, including MDMA, in hot weather after nine people became unwell at a music festival in January. Hydration and cool spots to take breaks from dancing are two key pieces of advice, as well as seeking urgent medical help at the first signs someone was unwell.
The Australian Festival Association has also called on the Victorian government to implement drug-checking services as recommended in a coroner's report following an investigation into the 2022 death of a 26-year-old man from an MDMA pill called Blue Punisher.
Ballarat Community Health has also been among dozens of frontline health organisations lobbying the state government to introduce drug-checking and an enhanced public alert system through the use of mobile and fixed pill testing.
BCH chief executive officer Sean Duffy has told The Courier pill testing was controversial but, as a community health organisation, it was important to look at harm minimisation strategies - especially to save lives.
Mr Duffy said if people were to take part in illicit drug-taking, they should be informed with what they were taking.
