A Greens candidate in the upcoming NSW state election has been forced to backtrack after saying people should be able to pop down to Woolworths and buy a “packet of MDMA”.

Lilith Zaharias, who is going up against Health Minister Brad Hazzard for the seat of Wakehurst on Sydney’s northern beaches, stands by her and her party’s position MDMA should be legalised and sold at pharmacies.

Ms Zaharias also backs her party’s policy to legalise, regulate and licence cannabis for recreational use in NSW — a stance she tried to explain in an interview with the Manly Dailythis week.

“Science shows us that they are a lot medically safer than legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco, which you can just go down to Woolworths or Dan Murphy’s and buy,” she said.

“If you could go to Woolworths and buy a packet of MDMA it would be much safer. If legal it could be produced in a factory where there could be safety standards.”

However, in a statement to news.com.au this morning, she admitted her “turn of phrase” about buying MDMA at supermarkets was “incorrect”.

“Greens policy is that MDMA should be licensed and regulated, with pharmacies the only point of sale to those over 18 in limited quantity, with identification to be produced and a record of sale taken,” she said.

Ms Zaharias also wants pill testing to be introduced at NSW festivals — which has become an emotive topic in the lead-up to the state election after five youths died having taken MDMA at music festivals in the last six months.

This week, the secretary of Drug Free Australia, Gary Christian, unleashed a scathing attack on the “false narrative” that pill testing saves lives.

“Current research has found no Australian deaths from impurities to date,” Mr Christian said in a statement. “There have been just three deaths from other illicit drugs cut with MDMA while there have been literally hundreds of Australian deaths from normal doses of ecstasy.

“Pill testing might inform 200 users at each of a dozen music festivals, but public funds would be better spent reaching millions of young people rather than just 2000-odd ecstasy buyers.”

However, former federal police commissioner Mick Palmer and Ted Noffs Foundation CEO Matt Noffs have hit back in defence of pill testing — saying the evidence that it saves lives is “overwhelming” and calling for a “drug summit” where the idea could be considered

“A drug summit will allow the government and other leaders to hear the science first-hand. They can make up their minds then,” Mr Palmer said.

“But by prematurely saying no to pill testing, they’re (the NSW Government) closing their mind to the evidence and are demonstrating a stubbornness and inability to consider the options, to listen to new views or to try new ideas. They have the power to act and to prevent more deaths.”

He said the Royal Australian College of Physicians, Australian Medical Association, the Australian College of Emergency Medicine, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation, the Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia all support a pill-testing pilot.

“Surely, you can no longer ignore the experts who tell us that a pill testing trial is simply common sense,” Mr Palmer added.

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