{"id":4581,"date":"2019-12-11T19:11:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T19:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=4581"},"modified":"2019-12-11T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2019-12-11T19:11:06","slug":"drug-amnesty-bins-for-music-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/12\/11\/drug-amnesty-bins-for-music-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"DRUG AMNESTY BINS FOR MUSIC FESTIVALS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Music festivalgoers will have a chance to discard illegal drugs into amnesty bins without fear of prosecution or penalty as part of the NSW Government\u2019s ongoing efforts to reduce drug-related deaths and injuries.<br \/>\nPremier Gladys Berejiklian said the measure formed a key part of the NSW Government\u2019s response to the Deputy Coroner\u2019s recommendations following her inquest into the deaths of six patrons at NSW music festivals.<br \/>\n\u201cThe recent deaths at music festivals are tragic reminders of the dangers of illegal drugs,\u201d Ms Berejiklian said.<br \/>\n\u201cWe will continue to send the strong message that drugs can and do kill.<br \/>\n\u201cAmnesty bins will provide a quick and easy way for music festivalgoers to discard their drugs \u2013 no questions asked.\u201d<br \/>\nUnder today\u2019s announcement, the NSW Government will extend targeted education campaigns, improve information sharing between State agencies about the toxicology of drugs found at music festivals and will work with festival organisers to ensure they continue to improve the health services being provided at their events.<br \/>\nMinister for Police David Elliott said the Government has been working closely with NSW Police to improve safety at music festivals.<br \/>\n\u201cWe want people to use these amnesty bins for illegal drugs and enjoy their time at music festivals,\u201d Mr Elliott said.<br \/>\n\u201cThe bins give an opportunity to discard dangerous substances without fear of prosecution.\u201d<br \/>\nNSW Health has also released updated\u00a0<em>Guidelines for Music Festival Event Organisers<\/em>\u00a0which support the delivery of safer music festivals. These were developed in consultation with key stakeholders and health experts.<br \/>\nHealth Minister Brad Hazzard said combining illicit drugs with hot weather and cramped festival conditions can be a deadly mix.<br \/>\n\u201cOur health professionals do an outstanding job at music festivals to keep people safe and provide valuable information to festivalgoers about the dangers of drugs,\u201d Mr Hazzard said.<br \/>\n\u201cAmnesty bins are another tool in our arsenal as we fight the scourge of illicit drugs.\u201d<br \/>\nThe NSW Government will work with NSW Police, health experts, music festival organisers and other key stakeholders regarding the design and operation of the amnesty bins.<br \/>\nToday\u2019s announcement builds on the NSW Government\u2019s existing measures to keep people safe at music festivals, which includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The introduction of an offence that holds drug dealers responsible for deaths they cause;<\/li>\n<li>A more stringent licensing regime that requires high-risk music festivals to prepare safety management plans;<\/li>\n<li>A trial of on-the-spot fines for drug possession at music festivals; and<\/li>\n<li>The ongoing Special Commission of Inquiry into the drug ice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The NSW Government\u2019s full response to the Deputy Coroner\u2019s recommendations can be found here:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.nsw.gov.au\/lsb\/Pages\/coronial-recommendations.aspx\">https:\/\/www.justice.nsw.gov.au\/lsb\/Pages\/coronial-recommendations.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Music festivalgoers will have a chance to discard illegal drugs into amnesty bins without fear of prosecution or penalty as part of the NSW Government\u2019s ongoing efforts to reduce drug-related deaths and injuries. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the measure formed a key part of the NSW Government\u2019s response to the Deputy Coroner\u2019s recommendations following her &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/12\/11\/drug-amnesty-bins-for-music-festivals\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;DRUG AMNESTY BINS FOR MUSIC FESTIVALS&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}