Overview

• State parliament passed changes to the Medicines and Poisons Act that bar the health director-general from granting or renewing authorities for drug checking, effectively banning pill testing.
• Queensland becomes the first Australian state to prohibit drug checking services outright.
• AMA Queensland, The Loop Australia and allied groups sought urgent talks and warned the ban could cost lives, arguing evidence-based services reduce harm.
• CheQpoint clinics in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast closed in April after funding lapsed, and a planned privately funded reopening in Brisbane was abandoned after a shutdown threat from the deputy premier.
• Opposition Leader Steven Miles called for a parliamentary inquiry as CheQpoint data showed unexpected substances in about 10% of samples, including nitazenes, and 2023 overdose deaths exceeded the road toll.