He said police had a right to go about their operations as they saw fit and conceded the trial exposed “inherent contradictions” in drug policy but said something had to be done after a spate of fatal overdoses.

Faehrmann said in a statement released late last year that the Coronial Inquest into Drug Deaths at Music Festivals “found that the presence of police with sniffer dogs caused the death of Alex Ross-King who panicked and took all of her pills at once”.

“We urge anyone who feels unwell or needs medical assistance to attend one of the medical tents on site.”

Drug checking is available in at least 28 countries, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

“Both of these approaches to avoiding detection have been shown to increase the risk of overdose and other adverse events, a cause for considerable concern following the deaths of two men at a New South Wales music festival in October.”