Parliament Resumes, Victoria’s Joint Push for Pill Testing Intensifies
This week, as three cross-bench parties get ready to press the newly elected Premier to act by endorsing their combined bill for a trial, the movement for pill testing in Victoria will pick up steam.
At the end of the previous year, the Animal Justice Party, Legalize Cannabis Victoria, and the Victorian Greens introduced the Pill Testing Pilot for Drug Harm Reduction Bill.
In addition to a fixed-site service for year-round, in-depth analysis, it would set up a mobile pill testing program for major music festivals. The licenses for both sites would be valid for two years, with the possibility of a four-year extension after a review.
If Victoria adopted a model similar to the one used in Canberra, a trial might only cost as little as $3.7 million, according to recently obtained costing from the Parliamentary Budget Office.
The progressive parties argue that the time to act is now, as Parliament reconvenes this week.
They claim that their historic bill will demonstrate that safeguarding young people from drug-related deaths or overdoses comes before politics or political affiliations.
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