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Coroner recommends pill testing, no more sniffer dogs, after festival deaths

A coroner has recommended pill testing be conducted at NSW festivals and sniffer dogs scrapped after an inquest into drug-related deaths.

Deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame on Friday closed the inquest into six MDMA-related deaths of people aged 18 to 23 at NSW music festivals over two summers, calling a radical change in drug policy.

“I am in no doubt whatsoever that there is sufficient evidence to support a drug checking trial in NSW,” she told the NSW Coroners Court.

“In my view, the evidence is compelling.”

Ms Grahame said pill testing was an evidence-based harm reduction strategy that should be trialled “as soon as possible in NSW”.

He said high-visibility and punitive policing operations at festivals – including drug detection dogs – had “inherent dangers and few if any benefits”, and should be scrapped.

She said the use of strip searches should be limited to circumstances where there is a “reasonable suspicion”.

The NSW Government has reiterated its opposition to pill testing trials after the coroner’s draft recommendations were leaked last month.

The post Coroner recommends pill testing, no more sniffer dogs, after festival deaths appeared first on The New Daily.


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