A Victorian man is dead just days after suffering a drug overdose at the Beyond the Valley festival in Victoria.
The 20-year-old from Mansfield died in hospital on Tuesday after being transported from the event in Lardner, east of Melbourne, in a critical condition on Saturday.
The circumstances surrounding his death are yet to be determined but it is not being treated as suspicious and police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Another man, aged in his 20s, at the same festival, was also airlifted to hospital after suffering a drug overdose and has since been discharged.
The Victorian death comes just days after the fatal overdose of 22-year old, Queenslander Joshua Tam in NSW at the Lost Paradise Music Festival at Glenworth Valley on Saturday.
Joshua Tam died after a suspected drug overdose at the NSW Central Coast music festival. Source: Facebook
Police re-issue warning
The deaths led police to again warn revellers to steer clear of drugs in the lead up to Field Day in the Domain in Sydney on New Year's Day.
"There is a clear association with illicit drug use at those festivals and the worst outcomes are being seen at times," Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Walton told reporters.
Falls Festival music event organisers also added a warning to attendees on Sunday afternoon - in the midst of three of their four nationwide music events - regarding a "dangerous orange pill" currently in circulation across Australia.
Falls Festival runs at Marion Bay in Tasmania, Byron Bay in NSW and Lorne on Victoria's Surf Coast.
NSW, Victoria remain opposed to pill testing
While the tragedies have re-ignited debate about pill testing, both the NSW and Victorian governments are opposed to the idea.
NSW Premier Berejiklian on Tuesday defended her government's position on pill testing, saying it would be dangerous to support the measure considering the variation in individual reactions to illicit drugs.
"If there is anything I can do to protect human life, we will do that," she said.
There have been four drug deaths in the last four months at music festivals in the state.
"But to give people a false sense of security that a pill is safe when it could be safe for them, but absolutely lethal for a friend of theirs, or it could be lethal for many others -- we don't believe that is the right thing to do.
"We don't believe, and I don't believe that it is okay to normalise drug taking, which is illegal. It is not the right thing to do.
"But it also such a lethal lethal hazard. We want people to enjoy themselves. We want people to have fun at these concerts. Please do that. But you don't need to take illegal substances to do that."
The NSW government announced new licensing regulations for music festivals to help combat the issue, but they won't be in place until after summer.
The Berejiklian government also proposed new laws where drug dealers could be jailed for up to 25 years if people who buy off them subsequently die from taking the drugs.
Premier Berejiklian said the measures were implemented on the recommendation of a taskforce which looked at ways to reduce the number of festival drug deaths.
She said the taskforce's recommendations also pointed to the importance of education.
"It is not just about a punitive side, it is not just about punishment. It is about making people aware of how taking something illegal can impact you, and the loved ones around you."
Victorian government urged to reconsider
Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns, a barrister and former political independent said the latest death could have been avoided - or at least that such risks could be minimised - with change.
"To refuse pill testing when it is known to save lives in Europe, North America and here, in Canberra, is grossly irresponsible on the part of (Victoria's) Andrews government," he said.
As the summer music festivals get under way police are warning music fans to avoid drugs. (AAP)
"In fact it is a case of negligence on the part of the government to refuse to ensure the law reduces the risk of death."
Another 40 people were caught with drugs and eight revellers arrested for
trafficking and possessing drugs and for outstanding warrants at a music event in Melbourne on Tuesday.
"The recently publicised events in Victoria and in NSW indicate both to us and the wider community that it is a considerable risk to be ingesting these substances because we just don't know what's in them," Sergeant Robert Milliken said afterwards.
Additional reporting: AAP
