The Drug and Substance Checking Bill currently moving through parliament marks another milestone in New Zealand’s shift away from criminalisation and towards harm reduction.
New research into pill testing at festivals shows not everyone reacts to a test result the way you’d expect.
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New research shows some festival goers are willing to take a dodgy pill regardless of the test result. So, let’s use pill testing to educate them and others about reducing their risk.
People who use party drugs say it gives them energy to dance and socialise, reduces their inhibitions and enhances their feelings of connection to others.
MDMA itself isn’t a dangerous drug. But adulterants found in drugs made by at-home chemists can be deadly.
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With several music festival patrons dying this year the pill testing debate is in full swing. Yet people can already purchase legally available test kits. Do they work?
Kim Kardashian West at the 50th anniversary of Cosmopolitan magazine, Oct. 12, 2015.
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Many brides are ecstatic when they marry, but few use the drug ecstasy on the big day. Kim Kardashian West recently divulged that she did. A drug expert explains the big risks of the party drug.
Young people have reported cultural gains from drug use, such as strengthening social ties and gaining access to social networks.
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A new study among gay and bisexual men living with HIV found those who were occasional or regular users of party drugs reported significantly better social outcomes than non-users.
Current MDMA trials could lead to the drug moving from the fringes of mainstream psychiatry to being recognised as a mainstream treatment option.
AAP
Current trials suggest MDMA could used to treat psychiatric disorders as a prescription medicine by 2021. But there remain a number of unresolved patient / doctor issues to be considered.
The drug GHB gained notoriety during raves decades ago, but it is resurfacing again.
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The recent death of ‘Storm Chaser’ star Joel Taylor, reportedly because of his use of the GHB, is a tragic reminder of the drug’s dangerous impact.
People who take GHB at dance parties say it makes them feel euphoric and less inhibited. But the drug is easy to overdose on.
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During the 1950s and 1960s, LSD was used more for psychotherapy than recreation. Between 1950 and 1965, many were treated with LSD for alcoholism, depression, schizophrenia, autism and homosexuality.
Pills sold as ecstasy contain variable amounts of MDMA, sometimes none.
AAP/Australian Federal Police.
Ecstasy is the street name for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, an illicit party drug that speeds up messages to and from the brain and alters the user’s perception of reality.
Decriminalisation removes criminal penalties for drug use or possession.
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Not only are our drug policies not working, we’re falling behind the rest of the world and what evidence says is best to ensure we have fewer deaths from illicit drugs.
This has been one of the worst starts to the music festival season ever, in terms of harm from overdoses.
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Testing drugs at music festivals not only means we can assess whether they contain anything unexpected, but it’s an opportunity to try to change the behaviour of users.
Young people want better information about illicit drugs so they can make informed choices.
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The death of 19-year-old Georgina Bartter at a music festival on the weekend from a suspected ecstasy overdose could possibly have been avoided with a simple harm-minimisation intervention. Pill testing…