A coronial inquest in Sydney, Australia is currently looking at how six young people died from drug-related issues at music festivals between December 2017 and January 2019.
The inquiry is meant to look into how these festivals utilize officers and police sniffer dogs and what needs to change in order to prevent these types of deaths in the future.
Well, a doctor, who is meant to give evidence at the inquest, reckons that legalising and regulating drugs like cannabis and MDMA could save lives.
Senior research fellow Dr Monica Barrett from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre says the current government attitude of 'just say no' isn't working.
"If pure MDMA with known dosage were available for recreational purposes, the need for a comprehensive monitoring system for novel drugs and emerging drug trends would be less urgent and it is likely that most people who use these drugs would choose the known and pure option," she wrote for the centre's submission for the inquest, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The typical line that police roll out when a person dies at a music festival is 'don't take drugs because you don't know what's in the pill, cap or tab'.
But Dr Barrett says if these drugs were regulated, people would know exactly was inside and it would hopefully prevent people from becoming sick from dodgy batches or high toxicity.
It doesn't look like the state government will be moving towards that option, at least if Premier Gladys Berejiklian has anything to do with it.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Premier said that people should just say no to drugs.
"We want to get the balance right, we want people to enjoy themselves, we want those festivals to continue and increase in number but we also need to ensure lives are not lost when that could be prevented.
"And the strongest message to anybody is don't take illegal substances, they're illegal for a reason."
When asked about what her government will do with the inquest recommendations when they're handed down, Ms Berejiklian alluded to sticking with the current model.
"It depends on what the recommendations have been and I don't think anyone can accuse the state government of not taking a strict approach to music festivals," she said.
The Premier said she doesn't want families to have to go through what the six families who's loved ones at front and centre at the coronial inquest have gone through.
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