As Gladys Berejiklian doubles down on her stance against illicit drugs and music festivals, former AFP commissioner, Mick Palmer has made his stance for harm minimisation heard.

Palmer has come out firing at the government and Premier in particular saying “My mind boggles at the thought that a government is not even prepared to start a trial of pill testing. Clearly she and other state premiers opposing the idea do not have the courage to say what we’ve got now is not working.”

He’s joined drug law reform campaigner Matt Noffs to start a drug harm minimisation initiative called ‘Take Control’ which will look to be a national campaign focussing on ideas that reduce and minimise harm, such as pill testing at festivals.

The plan will also look to end criminal charges for minor possession of drugs, increasing the number of treatment centres and making better contact services for youth in disadvantaged areas.

These ideas all seem pretty good to us, so check out more about the initiative and tell us what you think. Is this a better way to approach the issue?

[Via: Mixmag]