The nation's peak medical body has called for pill testing trials after two young people died of suspected drug overdoses at a major Australian music festival.
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A Victorian woman, 21, and Sydney man, 23, died after collapsing while three more ended up in a critical condition after the Sydney music festival Defqon.1 at Penrith on Saturday.
About 700 revellers in the 30,000-strong crowd required medical attention at the event.
Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone said law enforcement couldn't be the only approach to solving the illicit drug issue.
Testing could do more than verify whether illicit substances were in festival attendees' pills, he said.
"It's an opportunity to try and inform ... about the dangerous consequences and try to get an opportunity to give them education and access to rehabilitation in terms of trying to reduce their drug dependency," Dr Bartone told SkyNews on Monday.
He said his organisation was clear that "proper co-ordinated clinical trials" were needed to see if pill testing did have a role to play.
"We have a serious problem, it is out of control, and we need to have a look at a raft of solutions in terms of dealing with these issues," he said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has vowed to never allow another Defqon.1 festival to be held in NSW again and vehemently ruled out pill testing.
"Of course I want young people to have fun at these festivals, but this particular one has had a bad safety record and now we have had yet another night of terrible tragedy," she said on Sunday.
"I want to send the strongest message to event organisers. More needs to be done to address the serious drug culture at these events.
"There is no such thing as a safe drug."
Greens MP David Shoebridge has called for festivals to introduce pill testing, amnesty bins and other harm minimisation measures.
Australian Associated Press
