Rogue pill testing conducted at a Victorian music festival has found drugs laced with a substance that is linked to a number of nightclub deaths and overdoses earlier this year.
As Herald Sun reports, over 300 people had their pills tested at the January event, which found some were laced with para-Methoxyamphetmaine, coined Dr Death.
The substance found in the drugs has been linked to three deaths and 20 hospitalisations following a toxic batch of MDMA in Melbourne's Chapel St in January.
It's reported that Stephen Bright, an Edith Cowan University academic, carried out the secret pill testing and said that 99% of people who were told their drugs contained unknown substances threw them away.
"We went to the organisers and explained what had happened," Bright said.
"They didn't want to see anybody die at the festival and gave us permission to set up a testing station out the back of a tent."
Despite the results, Acting Police Minister, James Merlino, has ruled out any trials ahead of the summer festival season.
"Advice from Victoria Police consistently tells us it can give people a false, and potentially fatal, sense of security about illicit drugs," Merlino said.
"These tests are unreliable as they can only indicate the possible presence of a class of drug, not its concentration or the presence of other dangerous ingredients."
Canberra festival Spilt Milk was set to hold a pill testing trial this month, however plans were pulled just weeks ago.
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