WEBVTT - Where's pill testing at in Australia?

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<v Speaker 1>Already and this this is the daily This is the daily.

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<v Speaker 1>Ohs oh, now it makes sense.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty first of March.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Zara, I'm Sam.

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<v Speaker 2>Yesterday Queensland announced the country's first ongoing pill testing service

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<v Speaker 2>will begin at a music festival next week. It comes

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<v Speaker 2>just over a year after the state first announced it

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<v Speaker 2>would move to allow for pill testing. Pill testing is,

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<v Speaker 2>of course a highly contentious issue, but with two jurisdictions

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<v Speaker 2>now allowing it, what can we expect to see from

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<v Speaker 2>the rest of the country. We'll tell you everything you

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<v Speaker 2>need to know in today's deep dive. But first, Sam,

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<v Speaker 2>what's making headlines.

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<v Speaker 1>Foreign Minister Penny Wong has insisted that Kevin Rudd will

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<v Speaker 1>stay on as Australia's ambassador to the US even if

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November. This all

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<v Speaker 1>comes after Trump called Rudd nasty during an interview with

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<v Speaker 1>former British politician turned broadcaster Nigel Farage earlier in the week.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's what the former president said.

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<v Speaker 2>I heard he was a little bit nasty.

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<v Speaker 1>I hear he's not the brightest bulb.

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<v Speaker 2>But I don't know much about him, but if he's

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<v Speaker 2>at all hostile, he will not be there long.

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<v Speaker 1>When asked about it yesterday, Wong said, even Peter Dutton

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<v Speaker 1>has expressed confidence in mister Rudd, who she called a

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<v Speaker 1>very effective ambassador. Rudd began his role as ambassador in

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<v Speaker 1>Washington in March of twenty twenty three.

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<v Speaker 2>Victoria's decision to pull out of hosting the twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>six Commonwealth Games has cost the state around five hundred

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<v Speaker 2>and ninety million dollars, according to new estimates. Former Premier

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<v Speaker 2>Daniel Andrews announced Victoria would not host the twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>six Commonwealth Games in July last year. Citing budget concerns.

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<v Speaker 2>The Victorian ordered a General's office examined the of securing,

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<v Speaker 2>planning for, and then withdrawing from the Games. It found

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<v Speaker 2>sixty four percent of costs were from settling the cancelation

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<v Speaker 2>of its contract with the Commonwealth Games Federation. The report

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<v Speaker 2>called the expense a significant waste of taxpayer money on

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<v Speaker 2>an event that will not happen.

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<v Speaker 1>A year's supply of contraceptives, including the pill, are now

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<v Speaker 1>accessible without a prescription in the US state of New York.

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<v Speaker 1>Governor Kathy Hokel described the decision, which was passed into

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<v Speaker 1>state law. As ushering in a new era. Hochel said,

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<v Speaker 1>any woman walking into a New York state pharmacy will

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<v Speaker 1>be able to purchase birth control, which she described as

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<v Speaker 1>essential healthcare.

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<v Speaker 2>And the good news, three time Grammy winner Pink is

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<v Speaker 2>about to make history with a new record for the

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<v Speaker 2>most shows ever performed by an artist in Australia and

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<v Speaker 2>New Zealand on a single tour. The US singer will

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<v Speaker 2>play show twenty of her current leg of the Summer

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<v Speaker 2>Carnival tour in Townsville on Saturday. That is remarkable. So, Sam,

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<v Speaker 2>yesterday we found out that festival goers attending a music

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<v Speaker 2>festival called Rabbits Eat Lettuce in Queensland next week we'll

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<v Speaker 2>be able to get their pills tested by a government

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<v Speaker 2>backed pill testing service.

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<v Speaker 1>And Zara, when you sent me the press release about

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<v Speaker 1>this announcement, I was trying to remember that we have

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<v Speaker 1>seen something similar in the past.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't lie, Sam. When I send you that press release,

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<v Speaker 2>we were actually talking about the name Rabbits Eat Lettuce

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<v Speaker 2>for approximately ten minuts.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, and I literally have just worked out whilst

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<v Speaker 1>we're recording that it's because it's Easter over that weekend

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<v Speaker 1>and there's no Easter Bunny. And at that festival in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nineteen, two people died in their tents with a

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<v Speaker 1>lethal cocktail of drugs in their systems. But this wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>the first time that Queensland had had an announcement about

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<v Speaker 1>pill testing, right.

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<v Speaker 2>No, it wasn't. So we found out about a year

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<v Speaker 2>ago that the government was going to roll out pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing services across the state, announcing the Palichet Government's commitment

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<v Speaker 2>to see pill testing happening across Queensland are also known

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<v Speaker 2>as drug checking. That was the Queensland Government under of course,

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<v Speaker 2>previous Premier Anastasia Palichet, announcing their plans in feb twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty three. But it's taken until now for them to

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<v Speaker 2>actually confirm how the pill testing will operate and what

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<v Speaker 2>it will actually look like.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so run me through what we know about how

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to work.

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<v Speaker 2>I will in a second, but I do just want

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<v Speaker 2>to take a step back first and actually explain what

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<v Speaker 2>pill testing is for anyone who isn't aware. So pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing is a service that essentially just allows people to

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<v Speaker 2>understand what's in a substance before they take it, so

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<v Speaker 2>the pill is tested and then the people doing the

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<v Speaker 2>test will tell the person who is about to take

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<v Speaker 2>the pill what is in it, so that the person

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<v Speaker 2>can make an educated decision about what to do next.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's just a very broad definition of what pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing is. But now back to how Queensland is going

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<v Speaker 2>to go about implementing it. So the first thing that

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<v Speaker 2>we found out is that it's going to start really soon,

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<v Speaker 2>as I said, next week soon. We also learned that

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<v Speaker 2>it will be ongoing, so that's a really important fact

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<v Speaker 2>because the only other pill testing service in the country

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<v Speaker 2>isn't ongoing in the act, it's due to end in December,

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<v Speaker 2>so that's a key difference there. And we also found

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<v Speaker 2>out that the government are going to commit one million

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<v Speaker 2>dollars over two years to support the rollout. So that

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<v Speaker 2>was all of the information that the Queensland government gave

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<v Speaker 2>us yesterday. And as I said, that was nearly a

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<v Speaker 2>full year after first making the announcement that we actually

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<v Speaker 2>got that detail.

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<v Speaker 1>And in the year since that first announcement. But also

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<v Speaker 1>if you look around at any state or territory in

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<v Speaker 1>the country, there's quite heated political debate about this topic.

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<v Speaker 1>What was the Queensland government's reason for pushing ahead with

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<v Speaker 1>this plan.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you're right. So we heard from the Health Minister,

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<v Speaker 2>Shannon Fentiman yesterday and she said that it was all

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<v Speaker 2>about harm minimization, So that's about focusing on strategies to

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<v Speaker 2>lessen the harm that someone taking a pill might experience.

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<v Speaker 2>To her, she said, we don't want people ending up

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<v Speaker 2>in our emergency departments or worse, losing their life. So

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<v Speaker 2>a very clear statement thereby the Queensland government about why

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<v Speaker 2>they're doing it and what their hope is there.

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<v Speaker 1>And is the Queensland government doing this with bipartisan support.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I'd say very little policy across the country has

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<v Speaker 2>bipartisan support, let alone something as contentious as this.

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<v Speaker 1>So no.

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<v Speaker 2>When the government first announced it would be legalizing pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing in the state last year, the Liberal National Opposition

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<v Speaker 2>said it wouldn't support the rollout. So the Deputy Leader

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<v Speaker 2>of the opposition said at the time there's no safe

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<v Speaker 2>way to take drugs and the Opposition does not support

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<v Speaker 2>pill testing in Queensland. Pill testing sends the wrong message

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<v Speaker 2>and it hasn't worked in other jurisdictions.

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<v Speaker 1>That's an interesting point that he said that it hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>worked in other jurisdictions. What do we know about how

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<v Speaker 1>it's gone in other state and territories.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I do think it's just one jurisdiction, so we

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<v Speaker 2>can't use a plural there. So Australia's first and until

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<v Speaker 2>now only fixed pill testing center launched in Canberra under

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<v Speaker 2>a six month trial in twenty twenty two, and as

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<v Speaker 2>I said earlier, it's been extended now to December this year.

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<v Speaker 2>This pill testing center has found some fascinating results since

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<v Speaker 2>it's launched. They've discovered a new recreational drug dubbed cambra

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<v Speaker 2>ketamine and also a new variant of bath salts, so

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<v Speaker 2>that's a group of synthetic chemical drugs that can be fatal.

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<v Speaker 2>Now we have a journal when our team, Daniel Deserto,

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<v Speaker 2>who is the journal that has really written up all

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<v Speaker 2>these stories. He's been chasing the Queensland government, He's been

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<v Speaker 2>chasing the Act government, so he's really been deep diving

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<v Speaker 2>into pill testing. He is unfortunately on leave as this

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<v Speaker 2>big announcement from Queensland happened, but earlier in the year

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<v Speaker 2>he did speak to the executive officer at Pill Testing Australia,

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<v Speaker 2>who is Steph Zenitas about the recent results of pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing in Canbra. Now, pill Testing Australia is one of

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<v Speaker 2>the that runs the center in the Acts, so she

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<v Speaker 2>was speaking from the personal experience of having run those.

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<v Speaker 2>She told Daniel about a rise in demand for pill

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<v Speaker 2>testing ahead of spilt Milk in twenty twenty three. She

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<v Speaker 2>said it was a success, but there was a limited

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<v Speaker 2>number of people who discarded their drugs after being checked,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think that that is so interesting. High purity

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<v Speaker 2>MDMA was detected at the on site pill testing center.

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<v Speaker 2>They also observed an increase in cocaine purity, which is

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<v Speaker 2>believed to be driven by shifting patterns of drug supply

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<v Speaker 2>and narcotic networks here in Australia. So there were lots

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<v Speaker 2>of really interesting findings just from that fixed center. That

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<v Speaker 2>is a trial in the Act alone.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so we know that the ACT is the only

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<v Speaker 1>other jurisdiction that's actually got something underway. But there are

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<v Speaker 1>conversations happening in other states, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there are, And any Keen listeners would have remembered

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<v Speaker 2>that one of yesterday's headlines on this podcast was actually

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<v Speaker 2>about this topic too, and that's because the Victorian government

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<v Speaker 2>is being encouraged to introduce pill testing, and that push

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<v Speaker 2>is coming by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

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<v Speaker 2>That is in the wake of the Coroner's Court of

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<v Speaker 2>Victoria last week finding that the deaths of two men

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<v Speaker 2>were a result of mixed high dose drugs that the

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<v Speaker 2>men may not have known they were taking. The Coroner's

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<v Speaker 2>Court also recommended the Victoria trial a pill testing service,

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<v Speaker 2>so similar to the one in the Act, and the

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<v Speaker 2>story is pretty much the same. In New South Wales,

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<v Speaker 2>there's been a pill testing trial formally recommended to the

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<v Speaker 2>New South Wales government that was back in twenty nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>and it was rejected. It was part of a New

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<v Speaker 2>South Wales coronial inquest into the deaths of six young

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<v Speaker 2>people at music festivals from twenty seventeen to twenty nineteen.

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<v Speaker 2>But really we haven't seen much movement on this issue

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<v Speaker 2>from those state governments, so I'd say those are more

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<v Speaker 2>wait and watch. I don't think that we can necessarily

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<v Speaker 2>expect for there to be any kind of major movement

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<v Speaker 2>on these issues anytime soon in those two states.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think the results in Queensland will definitely find

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<v Speaker 1>their way into discussions happening in other states and territories

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<v Speaker 1>as we get more data in this space and now

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<v Speaker 1>we no longer have an act example to look at,

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<v Speaker 1>but also Queensland and for experts to evaluate whether this

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<v Speaker 1>is indeed a sustainable path forward.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, I mean the Victorian premier said that she

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<v Speaker 2>was going to get advice after those deaths I spoke

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<v Speaker 2>about earlier. She did say that there was no plan

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<v Speaker 2>to introduce bill testing, but she said she'd get advice,

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<v Speaker 2>so I guess we'll have to see.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for joining us on the Daily os today.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll be back in your ears tomorrow. If you enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>this episode, leave a comment on Spotify or give us

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<v Speaker 1>a rating on Apple. We really appreciate all your feedback

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<v Speaker 1>and support for independent media. We'll be back in your

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<v Speaker 1>ears tomorrow morning. Have a great day. My name is

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<v Speaker 1>Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Cargotin woman

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<v Speaker 1>from Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast

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<v Speaker 1>is recorded on the lands of the Gadigol people and

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<v Speaker 1>pay us respect to all.

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<v Speaker 2>Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We pay our

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<v Speaker 2>respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past

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<v Speaker 2>and present,