The effect of public opinion and politics on attitudes towards pill testing: Results from the 2019 Australian Election Study

Abstract

Introduction and Aims Following several deaths due to drug overdoses at music festivals in Australia, pill testing (or drug checking) has been proposed as a means of reducing the risk to young people. However, pill testing is a politically controversial policy in Australia. This paper examines the political dimension to the debate, its relationship with other social issues and how it divides party supporters. Design and Methods The data come from the 2019 Australian Election Study survey—a large (n = 2179), nationally weighted representative probability survey conducted immediately after the federal election. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to identify the social groups, attitudes and vote preferences most associated with public views about pill testing. Results Almost two‐thirds of the public support pill testing at music festivals. The young and those who do not attend church are most likely to express support. Supporters of other liberal social opinions, such as the legalisation of marijuana, are also strongly supportive of pill testing. Those who vote for one of the two main conservative parties are less likely to support pill testing. Discussion and Conclusions While a majority of the public support pill testing, beyond the Australian Capital Territory this has not translated into policy in other jurisdictions. The results show that there is a high level of political polarisation surrounding opinions among both voters and political elites. This issue must be addressed if the policy is to be advanced as part of an overall harm reduction approach to drug use.

Who supports drug‐checking services in Australia? An analysis of 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey data

“…In line with previous research [2], age, education, income and regionality were all important correlates for support of drug‐checking services. An increase in support for alcohol policy items corresponded to a decrease in support for drug‐checking policies.…”

“…Although some basic drug-checking can be done using home testing kits, drug-checking services usually refer to mobile testing facilities (such as at music festivals) and fixed-site facilities in the community. Drugchecking services have received increased attention in recent policy debates in Australia [2,3], including recommendations for drug-checking services from the New South Wales and Victorian Coroners Court [4,5]. There have been two trials of mobile drug-checking facilities at music festivals in the Australian Capital Territory in 2018 and 2019 and, more recently, the piloting of a fixed-site testing facility in the Australian Capital Territory in 2022.…”

“…For example, young people aged 18-30 years who consume drugs are more likely to support testing sites at festivals, live music events and fixed sites in the community [6,13,14]. A study using Australian Electoral Study survey data found endorsement of conservative political parties reduced the likelihood of supporting drug-checking services, while endorsement of progressive parties increased likelihood of support [2]. However, a better understanding of the prevalence of support for drug-checking services is still needed to inform policy and feasibility of drugchecking services.…”

Changes in Australian community perceptions of non-communicable disease prevention: a greater role for government?

“…Thus, there appears to be a gap between the role that the community perceives the government should be taking in prevention, and the perception that that role is being carried out. While the mechanism producing such changes is difficult to determine from our data, there is current evidence in the COVID-19 [ 58 ] other health literature [ 59 ] of strong public acceptance of government intervention among Australians. It also appears that the increasing and majority support for government to lead on prevention seen in our study is apparently compatible with strong (but stable) endorsement of personal responsibility for health, which was unchanged between 2016 and 2018.…”

A step change model analysis of the establishment of pill testing in one Australian jurisdiction

“…By the mid-2010s, the prospect of establishing a guiding coalition in the ACT to bring about a government sanctioned pill testing service seemed like a realistic prospect. The ACT was a small ‘l’ liberal jurisdiction with a Labor Government, in coalition with a significant Greens minority, making it one of the most progressive jurisdictions in Australia [ 29 ]. Shane Rattenbury, leader of the ACT Greens, was a powerful advocate for change.…”