Fairfax Media revealed in April that Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation president Alex Wodak and Canberra physician David Caldicott would launch pill-testing at forthcoming Sydney festivals with or without government permission, risking possible arrest and police charges.

To date, the NSW Police Force and Baird Government have labelled the project illegal. But in a significant development, high-level talks have commenced between trial organisers and police in other states who are understood to be both "sympathetic" and "interested" in the trial as a harm minimisation strategy. It was observed that the program might also help provide "early warning" about dangerous products before they flood the market.

"We continue to progress," said Dr Caldecott last week. "We've got the funding. Meetings with law enforcement have been face to face and in more than one jurisdiction outside of NSW."

He declined to name which states had been involved in negotiations but added: "There are very senior police supporting us currently. There are very senior politicians supporting us currently. We are now working out how we can have a system in place for the forthcoming festival season."

If the trials were to commence outside of NSW, it would create further dilemma for the Baird Government, which appears certain to persevere with its controversial sniffer dog drug detection program. Aside from questions about its overall effectiveness, the policy has come under fire for triggering even riskier behaviour among festivalgoers, some of whom consume dangerous amounts of drugs, at once, to avoid detection.

News of the briefings coincides with the latest festival drug overdoses last week involving two teenagers who collapsed at the Groovin' the Moo musical festival in Maitland, north of Newcastle.

A girl, believed to be 15-years-old, collapsed and stopped breathing inside the festival grounds. Nearby paramedics were able to perform CPR and revive her before she was taken to John Hunter Children's Hospital in a critical condition. She has since recovered. A teenage boy was also transported to Maitland Hospital after collapsing.

Dr Caldecott said both incidents served as a "dire warning" for the summer ahead.

"We had talked about the possibility of pill testing at Groovin' the Moo and we shrugged our shoulders and said, it's not actually high yield... so the fact that people got sick there, the fact they were so young, obviously emphasises the ongoing need for this. Even the experts have underestimated the nature of the market. It is absolutely going to be far worse next season."

The NSW Government has previously stated that it "does not support pill testing". On Saturday a spokeswoman said that its "position has not changed".

eduff@fairfaxmedia.com.au