THE deputy state coroner's recommendations on pill testing may have caused a stir during the week, but Orange's representative remains unshaken on the issue.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Harriet Grahame's draft report, leaked to the media, recommended pill testing at festivals and legalisation of illicit drugs for personal use.
However, member for Orange Phil Donato said he did not support the measures.
"I've been public on this before, I don't support pill testing - we need to get the message out there that there's no safe pills," he said.
The former police officer said even if a pill passed a test, there was no guarantee it was safe.
People need to realise pills are manufactured in dirty backyard laboratories by criminals only interested in profits.
- Member for Orange Phil Donato
"It doesn't mean there won't be other adverse impacts on your health - it could be exacerbating mental illness or schizophrenia," he said.
Mr Donato said legalising drugs for personal use in particular was a "slippery slope".
"People need to realise pills are manufactured in dirty backyard laboratories by criminals only interested in profits and they mix the MDMA with whatever they can find, whether it's Ajax or whether it's their own urine," he said.
"If people want to consume that, they're foolish."
Premier Gladys Berejiklian criticised the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers during the week for voting against a licensing regime for music festivals, but Mr Donato said the vote occurred in the upper house and was unsure of the circumstances.
He said another bill was introduced in the lower house on Thursday and it would be debated in the coming weeks, but he had not yet considered his position.
"There's always scope for improving safety [at music festivals]," he said.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS?
Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...