Most festival goers would test their drugs

If music festivals offered free drug checking the majority of attendees would not only use it but would reconsider taking drugs if they were aware of the contents, a study by a NSW university has found.

More than 600 people aged between 18 and 30 years old were surveyed at a major Australian music festival in 2016 about their attitude towards drug-checking services.

The debate over drug testing was sparked in 2015 after three people died in as many months at music festivals in NSW, with the idea that it would make drug taking safer.

Western Sydney University, which led study, found that close to 55 per cent of festivalgoers would be highly likely to use the services, while nearly 33 per cent would be somewhat likely to use them.

When asked if the results of drug checking would influence their decision to take the drug, 65 per cent of people wouldn't take substances shown to contain methamphetamine, and close to 60 per cent of people wouldn't take drugs containing ketamine and para-methoxyamphetamine.

While nearly three out of four respondents said they had used illicit drugs in the past 12 months, collaborator Jennifer Johnston from the University Centre for Rural Health North Coast said the idea of testing was not to facilitate or condone drug use.

"The idea ... is to help people make better-informed decisions and to provide an opportunity for harm-reduction information and health promotion messages to be given directly to young people," she said.

The study also found that 86 per cent of people think drug-checking services could lead to users seeking help to reduce harm.

A landmark pill-testing trial had been set for Canberra's Spilt Milk music festival in November but was cancelled about a month beforehand due to an apparent dispute over authorisations.

The ACT government and police had cleared the path for the Australian-first trial at the event, but a kerfuffle over documentation led to plans being spiked.