The New Norm for Queensland’s Night Life - Naloxone, Nitazenes and no more drug-checking

Laneway Festival Brisbane Main Stage in 2025. (Queensland Lens: Issy Coghill).

When Patrick Mckenzie started his Instagram 'Australian Drug Histories', he did not expect much attention.

He has described himself as an ex-problem user and has turned a past of trauma, overdoses and near-death experiences into a strong online community.

"I post on there and people contact me wanting help around their own particular drug problem and I maybe offer what support I can."

The page held hardcopy and digital photos of famous Australian drug busts, anti-drug campaigns and various nightlife clubs across the nation.

Unfortunately, the page was taken off the platform due to ‘breaching community standards’.

Some of the content posted has been memorialised in the New South Wales State library but many may never be seen again.

With 6,000 followers at its peak, Patrick also used the platform to advocate for better harm minimisation programs and reminded people to get their drugs checked in public health clinics.

“Because certain things have been tried on and off and get forgotten about…I kinda wanna point out things that have been done already.”

The irony was not lost on Patrick and myself that the page was lost a week after the Queensland Government shut down pill-testing statewide.

Patrick McKenzie and the current view of @australian_drug_histories as of October 2025.

(Patrick McKenzie image supplied and Queensland Lens: Issy Coghill).

CheQpoint and the $453,286 report

The core of the creation of Queensland’s main pill-testing clinic (CheQpoint) is harm reduction.

Harm reduction/minimisation focuses on interventions, policies and programs that inform people who take or want to experiment with drugs the risks and dangers of substance use. 

There are many different principles that make up harm reduction but ultimately they centre the individual and acknowledge that illicit drug use is part of living. 

CheQpoint opened in April 2024 with its first fixed site in Bowen Hills and its first event services at Rabbits Eat Lettuce Festival.

Its reach expanded to the Gold Coast and offered on-site services to attendees at Earth Frequency Festival, Wildlands Festival and Safer Schoolies.

The former Queensland Labor government commissioned the University of Queensland to evaluate the effectiveness of CheQpoint and festival drug checking as part of the introduction of these services to the state.

Whether the report’s findings would be published was unclear after the current government began cutting private funding for drug checking.

With no explanation being given when the cuts started to occur, speculation began as to whether the suppression was a political move.

Evaluation of Queensland Drug Checking Services 2025 was eventually published, on the same day that CheQpoint’s pill testing service was banned statewide.

It found that drug checking allowed a variety of people to take part in education and training in preventing overdoses - not just drug-users.

78% of clients had never visited a drug-checking service and 54% had never spoken to a health professional about their substance use but most importantly over half of all clients intended to change their post-test behaviour.

If the results of this study point to such positive benefits and feedback on the service, then how could it possibly be banned in Queensland.

The last round for CheQpoint

The Liberal National Party’s firm policy position of "there is no safe way to take drugs” has felt like a very targeted message to drug-checking services since the 2025 Queensland Election.

While the New South Wales Government and Victoria were announcing hosting drug-checking services at music festivals, David Crisafulli and his newly-elected party were announcing they would not continue CheQpoint’s funding beyond its one year contract.

The LNP’s stance is best reflected in its quick amendments to the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 in the week leading to Friday the 19th of September.

These amendments were declared urgent under the Queensland Government Better Regulation Policy which allowed it to skip the traditional all-party parliamentary committee scrutiny and an essential Risk Impact Assessment to limit policy consequences.

The changes prevent the chief executive of Queensland Health from granting applications for substance authorities with the purpose of drug-checking.

It also means an instant cut of all current authorities with that purpose.

The result? A complete and immediate ban of pill-testing and drug checking services publicly or privately in Queensland, including CheQPoint.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls reinforced this amendment when talking to the press after the hearing.

"We don't support drug dealers. There is no safe way to take drugs."

CEO of the Queensland Injectors Health Network (QuIHN), Geoff Davey completely disagrees.

The speed of the legislation change that week was so quick that my interview with Davey was delayed because he and other drug-checking organisation executives were called to Parliament House on Friday.

He said the weekend after the decision was one of great disappointment.

"I think I felt a bit let down given that one of the mandates the government [follows] is to keep Queenslanders safe and drug checking is a service designed to keep people safe."

QuIHN is one of the three organisations that make up CheQpoint. Based in Bowen Hills and the Sunshine Coast, its specific role was to promote education with harm reduction campaigns and link participants with relevant health services.

Davey has emphasised these services will not be going away any time regardless of the ban.

"We're an important part of the solution in response to AOD [Alcohol and Other Drug] issues within Queensland and we want to work very closely with the community as well as decision and policy makers, which we have always done."

Geoff Davey is the CEO of Queensland Injectors Health Network and Queensland Parliament. (Supplied QuIHN and Queensland Lens: Issy Coghill).

Looking forward - what now?

According to the Penington institute, six Australians die from overdosing every day and it is also the 17th year that the number of overdose deaths have surpassed the national road accident toll.

This terrifying statistic alongside the banning of drug-checking means it is on the Queensland community to keep track of what is circulating in our own backyard.

Community and government organisations publish drug alerts nationwide to share vital information about what is being found in the community which helps people better prevent overdoses and understand the risks of emerging drugs.

Since Queensland banned drug-checking, there have been ten national drug alerts with two from the Sunshine Coast.

Most alerts concerned drugs posing as Benzoids or Opioids, which were later discovered to contain a white powder considered up to ten times stronger than fentanyl. It is a chemical Davy knows all too well.

"In the lead up to the closure of our service, even on the final night, those detections occurred, which was really concerning for us."

Nitazenes were first detected in 2021 in Australia but have become a recurring character in drug seizures in recent years. In 2025 Nitazenes was found in wastewater samples for the first time since its introduction. It signals the drug has now become easier to access.

One solution to the increasing danger that Nitazenes pose is Naloxone - an opioid antagonist that harm reduction advocates urge to be rolled out in areas that may encounter individuals overdosing.

Under the Australian Government, people can individually pick up Naloxone in the form of an easy-to-administer nasal spray [Nyxoid].

When Davy and his team retook their First-Aid certificates, they informed their trainers about Naloxone and how it should be added to medical bags.

“It should be just as normalized as seeing an AED Defibrillator on the wall at the shopping centres,” Davy says.

"It’s just another tool."

When I picked up Nyxoid at my local pharmacy, I was given two small nasal sprays with an informative pamphlet about the signs of opioid overdose.

It was free of charge and had clear instructions on the packet on how to administer the dosage.

There are plenty of other resources available such as Night Coach by Harm Reduction Australia, which provides alerts for dangerous drugs, or Hi-Ground, a website dedicated to education and providing support for those who take drugs.

The Hi-Ground website and Nightcoach App dashboards (Queensland Lens: Issy Coghill).

While these services are not a catch-all solution for the gap pill-testing leaves behind, they are the only options available to people who want to be safe when out at festivals or clubs.

The short-lived history of Pill-testing in Queensland points to a dangerous issue - Drug-checking was one of the most effective ways to understand what emerging drugs are making their way through the community.

The ban means some of the strongest tools Parliament has for protecting Queenslanders now lay abandoned.

McKenzie spoke his mind when discussing the large amount of policy support politicians have.

"All politicians these days are surrounded by advisors...and they have access to really clear, precise, instant accurate information," he tells me.

"I’m just saddened by the way obviously intelligent, focused and hard-working people can make these decisions."

Davey stated that there needs to be a refocus on the education and accessibility of naloxone if drug-checking services are being closed.

“I don’t think it’s something that needs to be politicised and sensationalised… it’s just something that we need to get on with and do well in order to reduce harm and save lives."

With summer fast approaching and festivals like Laneway, Listen Out and Good Things on the calendar, drug checking should be a priority for the Queensland government.

Unfortunately, the party may be over for harm reduction strategies like it.