University Centre for Rural Health, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, 62 Uralba Street, PO Box 3074, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
Harm Reduction and Health Promotion Programs, HIV and Related Programs (HARP), North Coast Public Health, Mid-North Coast Local Health District, Lismore, Australia.
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2020 Aug 5;15(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s13011-020-00295-1.
Pill testing services could potentially be used to reduce drug-related harm. This study aims to identify patterns of ecstasy use among live music event attendees; explore the opinions and potential usage of illicit pill testing programs and examine factors associated with the likelihood of still taking a pill containing a potential harmful substance.
A cross-sectional survey was completed by 760 people attending a major Australian live music event in 2017.
The most commonly used drug in the last 12 months was ecstasy (73.9%). About 5% of people who use drugs had sought medical attention due to consumption of ecstasy. People who use drugs agreed "a lot" that pill testing should be provided for free at live music events (82.2%) and that it should be combined with harm reduction advice (62.9%). Additionally, 32% of all participants agreed 'a lot' that they would be more likely to take illicit drugs at a music festival if pill-testing services were present. However, if people perceived that a harmful substance was detected in their drugs after using a pill testing service, 52.3% of people who have used illicit drugs reported that they would 'not at all' be likely to still consume the drug. They also reported that they would still take a pill if testing demonstrated the presence of unintended MDMA-type substances (70.3%), amphetamines (31.2%) or ketamine (27.8%). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that only increased frequency of ecstasy use was significantly associated with taking a pill despite pill testing services detecting a harmful substance. Gender, age, alcohol and previously seeking ecstasy-related medical attention were not associated in the multivariate analyses.
A high proportion of live music attendees consume alcohol and ecstasy. Both people who have and who have not used illicit drugs support the implementation of pill testing services. People reported they would change their consumption patterns according to the results given by pill testing services. The findings may be used to stimulate public debate, and assist drug and alcohol policy makers in the implementation of harm minimisation strategies such as combining pill testing services with harm reduction advice.
药丸检测服务有可能被用于减少与毒品相关的危害。本研究旨在确定参加现场音乐活动者使用摇头丸的模式；探讨非法药丸检测计划的意见和潜在用途，并研究与仍服用含有潜在有害物质的药丸相关的因素。
2017 年，对参加澳大利亚一个大型现场音乐活动的 760 人进行了横断面调查。
在过去 12 个月中，最常使用的药物是摇头丸（73.9%）。因使用摇头丸而寻求医疗关注的药物使用者约占 5%。药物使用者非常同意（82.2%）应该在现场音乐活动中免费提供药丸检测，并应将其与减少伤害建议相结合（62.9%）。此外，所有参与者中有 32%非常同意（32%）如果音乐节上提供药物检测服务，他们更有可能在音乐节上服用非法药物。但是，如果在使用药丸检测服务后发现药物中含有有害物质，52.3%的曾使用过非法药物的人表示他们“绝对不会”再服用该药物。他们还报告说，如果检测表明存在意外的 MDMA 类物质（70.3%）、安非他命（31.2%）或氯胺酮（27.8%），他们仍会服用药丸。多变量分析表明，只有摇头丸使用频率的增加与即使药丸检测服务检测到有害物质仍服用药丸显著相关。性别、年龄、酒精和之前是否因摇头丸寻求医疗关注在多变量分析中均无关联。
现场音乐活动的参加者中有很大一部分人会同时饮酒和使用摇头丸。曾使用过非法药物的人和未曾使用过非法药物的人都支持实施药丸检测服务。人们报告说，他们会根据药丸检测服务提供的结果改变他们的消费模式。这些发现可以用于激发公众辩论，并帮助药物和酒精政策制定者实施减少伤害策略，例如将药丸检测服务与减少伤害建议相结合。
