By Conor Duffy, staff
An emergency physician is one of a growing number of people calling for pill testing at music festivals after a woman’s death from an ecstasy overdose at Stereosonic at the weekend.
Sylvia Choi, 25, from Oyster Bay, was taken from the festival to the Concord Hospital where she later died.
Another woman, 22, was in an induced coma while almost 70 people were charged with drug offences.
“This is the most dangerous season we’ve ever seen in Australia,” emergency physician and drug expert Dr David Caldicott told 7.30.
“There is a diversity of products on the market that not even drug nerds like myself know about.”
Dr Caldicott has joined calls for pill testing at music festivals.
“Drug testing or pill checking involves taking a forensic laboratory to the point of consumption,” he said.
“For example, in Zurich they bring a shipping container of forensic equipment to Europe’s largest rave … and allow people to come and submit their product for testing.
“Then in the 20 to 30 minutes they’re waiting for a result, engage with the consumer, let them know what’s going on … and also look at their habits and how they can stay safer.
“It’s not so much the contaminants that we’re worried about, we’re worried about purity, we’re worried about the diversity of products.”
Dr Caldicott monitors the victims of drug overdoses and treats them at the emergency department at Calvary Hospital in Canberra.
He is also part of an independent, multi-disciplinary, hospital-based research group committed to minimising the harm associated with illicit drug use.
“‘Don’t use drugs’ is perfectly acceptable for primary school kids and the people who aren’t already using drugs,” he said.
“But for this group of people, they’ve already decided to use drugs and we need to be far more nuanced in our approach to illicit drugs than we currently are.”
Family who lost son to drugs call for pill testing
Adriana Buccianti, who lost her son to drugs in 2012, has joined Dr Caldicott’s calls for pill testing.
Her son Daniel, 34, died after taking acid at the Rainbow Serpent festival in Victoria.
After Daniel’s death Ms Buccianti wanted the festivals shut down, but she has now changed her mind.
“I’ve changed my mind because a very good friend of my son’s said to me, and I quote, ‘you’re not going to be doing Daniel any favours if you close this down, something that he really loved, somewhere where he could be himself and feel connected to nature and other people’,” Ms Buccianti told 7.30.
Tony Wood, whose daughter Anna died almost 20 years ago after taking ecstasy at a dance party, has also paid tribute to Ms Choi’s family.
“The questions will be coming, ‘Why?’ You know, don’t really understand it, we didn’t know our girl was taking drugs until this all happened and she ended up in hospital,” he said.
“And then the grief will set in.
“Once that grief sets in it’s like your brain stops working.
“The pain around your heart is unbelievable — it’s like it’s in a vice and its being squeezed.”
Since his daughter’s death he has campaigned for tougher penalties on drugs.
“The drug situation in our country’s just accelerating and I don’t know what the heck we can do to stop it, but it’s got to be stopped shortly because we’re just going to have a whole generation of young people who are not going to make life,” Mr Wood said.
Culture is not something you can enforce: police commissioner
The Stereosonic festival will continue this week, travelling to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said there was only so much police could do to stop people taking drugs.
“Culture’s not something you can enforce with the law,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“Culture has to be something that comes from those that are involved.
“And so, at some stage hopefully people will realise just how dangerous this is. No good can come from it.”
Mr Wood suggested that if the drugs could not be controlled, those festivals should be banned.
“I think the whole event’s got to be looked at long and hard and it’s no good testing pills,” he said.
“They’ve got to say, ‘listen, we’re not going to have this anymore, if we keep losing people … there’s something wrong with the festival, it’s got to be stopped’.”
But Dr Caldicott said the ban approach simply did not work.
“I think prohibition is irresponsible — it’s puerile,” he said.
“It never worked for alcohol, doesn’t work now.
“If you find yourself at the bottom of a deep hole holding a spade and wondering how you got there, the solution is not to keep digging.
“Most people, if you ask what they want for their kids — they want them to be safe.”