Australian Government Makes Concert Season Safer with Griffin G510x

Border patrol and hazmat agencies have been using the Griffin G510 and the newly launched Griffin G510x to identify dangerous substances in complex mixtures in a law enforcement capacity. But now, the G510x is making a difference in a new area: public and community health by identifying and informing people of all the substances present that they may choose to ingest.

Pursuit, the University of Melbourne’s research news feature website, recently published an in-depth story about the Victorian government’s pill testing program. This article explores the government’s decision to begin pill-testing at popular music festivals, where estimates place recreational drug use at 30 percent of attendees. Organizers, responders, and public officials have a difficult choice: to conduct testing for deadly drugs before they are ingested or conduct that testing after a person has chosen to use it and could be suffering from a life-threatening overdose.

In the case of the Victorian State Government, they have been adopting a risk-assessment program to identify potent and deadly synthetic opioids (mainly Nitazenes) flooding into the country. These drugs are more potent than fentanyl and can lead to a fatal overdose in a matter of minutes. The vast majority of users at festivals, primarily made up of young audiences, do not suspect such potency or risk.

The article's author, University of Melbourne’s Dr. John Fitzgerald, has been working with the Detection team at Teledyne FLIR Defense this year to bring this pill testing program to the “Groovin’ the Moo” music festival in Canberra, Australia. While the program was originally going to use the G510 for pill testing and drug surveillance, new drugs were flooding the supply quicker than anticipated.

Facing this new threat, Rakesh Patel, the Product Manager for the Griffin series, provided training on the G510x and its ability to detect even the latest substances and threats. Rakesh and David Nam, Director of International Sales, met in person with Dr. Fitzgerald and the responding agencies at the University of Melbourne to conduct training and prepare staff for an evolving situation. The Griffin G510x can detect the new Nitazenes in around 7 minutes and is the only portable GC/MS unit on the market with the ability to do so.

“With the G510x, the Australian government is able to identify onsite the actual drug that caused an overdose, which would then allow authorities to effectively broadcast any new threats to the relevant agencies,” David Nam explained.

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ABC News Australia recently featured Dr. Fitzgerald and the Griffin G510x and the vital work being done to save lives daily in the face of increasing dangers and unknowns.