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1. Young woman who died at Stereosonic was a pharmacist from Sydney.
The young woman who died at the Stereosonic music festival at Sydney Olympic Park is believed to have taken an ecstasy tablet and mixed it with MDMA.
25-year old Sylvia Choi of Oyster Bay, a qualified pharmacist, died on Saturday night after being rushed to hospital.
Another woman, a 22-year old who was also admitted to hospital and placed in an induced coma has now been discharged.
Assistant Commissioner Frank Mennilli offered his condolences to the family of Ms Choi.
“A young woman has lost her life as we believe as a direct result of a drug overdose. We won’t know the full extent of the situation until an autopsy is conducted,” he said.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to pass on my condolences to the family and loved ones of the young person who passed away. It must be an extremely difficult time for them.
“It is extremely frustrating. We have been working hand-in-hand with the organisers, the venues, we put out numerous messages to try to warn people about the effects of drugs but unfortunately the messages sent do not get through to some people.”
2. Doctors push for drug testing at festivals.
Meanwhile a group of doctors are pushing for drug testing to be allowed at Victorian music festivals so party goers could test the make-up of drugs they’re planning to take.
Canberra-based emergency physician David Caldicott who heads the push told Fairfax Media he had conveyed the idea to police and is calling on the Andrews government to back his plan.
Dr Caldicott said drug checking saved lives and could deter festival goers from taking the dangerous substances.
“This is so mainstream in Europe now. There’s actually a guideline about how to best do it.”
Those planning on taking the drugs can submit scrapings or samples of their drugs to onsite laboratories and then they are issued information about the substance.
If the tests find a harmful substance it is displayed on a screen as a public health announcement without naming who owned the drugs.
“At no stage within this system is there any suggestion that we are encouraging drug use. Nobody ever gets told ‘this is great and you should use it’.”
Rainbow Serpent Festival director Tim Harvey said they would support the idea.