A politically controversial drug-checking service will re-open in Brisbane next week with private money. The site was forced to close earlier this year when the LNP government axed its funding. The announcement comes as new figures reveal more people are dying from drug overdoses than on our roads.
00:00Emily Cooper has lost too many loved ones to drug overdoses, including 12 women she met in prison, all of them dying soon after leaving.
00:12Aunty Sharon, Yasmin, Sarah, Rowan...
00:16Nine were mothers, many overdosed within days of release.
00:20I feel a deep sense of injustice. I feel angry. These women were not acknowledged.
00:28The latest data shows 310 people died from unintentional drug overdoses in Queensland in 2023. That's higher than the road toll.
00:40Drug and alcohol support experts alongside Labor and Greens politicians are marking Overdose Awareness Day. The key message? Deaths are preventable.
00:51We have the tools and we have the mechanisms. We just need the will to be able to implement it.
00:56Drug checking is one tool to save lives. Queensland's two testing sites closed in April after the LNP government refused to provide ongoing funding. Now a philanthropist is stepping in.
01:12The Brisbane service at Bowen Hills will reopen next week.
01:16We know that drug checking can reduce overdose, it can prevent deaths, it can reduce hospitalisations and keeps the whole community safe.
01:24Harm minimisation advocates say State Parliament has a duty to choose evidence and compassion over ideology when it comes to drug overdoses.
01:34The Christopher Foley Government have failed to fund pill testing as a public system and I think that is incredibly regrettable.
01:41It's just a staggering disappointment that the State Government won't step in and provide financial support for a service that we know saves lives.
01:49A spokesperson for the Health Minister says the Government does not support pill testing and will ensure its policy position is strictly maintained and enforced.
Be the first to comment