Dr Kerry Chant pushed the premier to think beyond pill-testing after young Sydneysiders unknowingly inhaled synthetic opioids through vapes.
Paramedics were called to the Beyond the Valley festival after a man in his 20s suffered a drug overdose.
From this weekend,festival-goers will be able to get their drugs tested confidentially to make sure they are taking what they think they are taking.
Premier Chris Minns has conceded there is an “essential contradiction” in allowing a 12-month pill-testing trial while still expecting police to enforce the law.
After years of calls for pill-testing services,a 12-month trial in time for the summer music festival season in early 2025 will be unveiled on Thursday.
MPs including the parliamentary secretary for health have put their names to an open letter calling on their own government to overhaul drug policy in NSW.
As the drug summit unfolded,it became dominated by the one topic the government wanted off the table:decriminalisation.
The outcomes of the NSW drug summit will most probably will reflect the Minns government’s lack of enthusiasm for reform.
The Minns government is facing a concerted push from powerful union leaders and MPs to adopt drug reforms such as pill testing and an additional medically supervised injecting centre as the drug summit resumes on Thursday.
The decision to invite an American mayor to speak at the NSW drug summit angered some attendees who saw it as an effort to head off calls for decriminalisation.
After Bob Carr’s push in 1999,NSW was regarded as a world leader in drug law and policy. Sadly,it is a mantle we lost long ago.