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A pill testing protest party is happening in Sydney this weekend

A mobile protest party is set to take place in Sydney next week, calling on the NSW Government to legalise pill testing and end its questionable strip searching program at Australian music festivals and beyond. 

The protest will be multi-stage event at Sydney Town Hall named Dance In Defiance, and will kick off at 2pm on November 23rd.

Organised by Reclaim The Streets, Keep Sydney Open, Unharm and Students For Sensible Drug Policy, Dance In Defiance is a protest which aims to bring further awareness to the war on festivals and encourage the government to make positive changes. 

Speaking about the protest, Keep Sydney Open spokesperson Tyson Koh said:

“No one will ever stop people from taking drugs, just ask the Boomers. What we can do is reduce harm by treating recreational drug use as a health issue instead of using our police force to terrorise people who, in most cases, are innocent of any wrongdoing,” 

“It’s a view backed by health organisations, the parents of victims and now the State Deputy Coroner. Why do we always have to drag this State Government kicking and screaming into the 21st century?”

Dance In Defiance follows a 2000-person protest held earlier this year by the same alliance and has been organised in response to the findings handed down last week by the coronial inquest into festival deaths.

The coroner recommended several major law changes including pill testing in NSW. She also recommended the decriminalisation of personal drug use and the scrapping of sniffer dogs at music festivals. It is believed that these changes will work to create a safer festival environment. 

It appears that the war on festivals, especially within New South Wales, will be a long-winded one, with many battling their opinions, surrounding festival safety. As young people increasingly voice their views on festival safety and drug use, Dance In Defiance offers another opportunity to be heard. 

DANCE IN DEFIANCE- 23 November 2019 – Town Hall, Sydney

Find more information here.