Let's Get Frank about Drug Use and Prevent Future Music Festival Tragedies

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Drug Policy Alliance

This past weekend, the final day of the three-day electronic dance music festival Electric Zoo held on Randall’s Island in New York City was canceled. The official press release from the city on Sunday, September 1, didn’t give many details, but stated that “the causes of death have not been determined, however, both appear to have involved the drug MDMA (ecstasy, or molly).” It’s a sad, and yet not unfamiliar headline. Especially so for someone like myself, who has been a fan of electronic music and attending events for over ten years now. One can only hope the lessons from this experience can prevent future tragedies.

Electric Zoo is a far cry from the relatively small parties that used to be called “raves.” In this era of electronic music events, they are held to the same standards as any other music or large sporting event. And yet even a production of this size can still be stopped in its tracks with news – or even the suspicion – of drug-related fatalities connected to it.

While not directly acknowledging there would likely be drug use at their event, Made Event, the promoters behind Electric Zoo, took practical preventative steps to ensure health and safety: there were multiple free water refill stations, easily identifiable “help points“ throughout the festival, and roaming medical and security staff keeping an eye on the crowd. They even worked with New York’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop harm reduction messaging sent out in marketing emails before the event and during through the event app. The messages reminded partygoers to drink water and to look out for each other.

Which made waking up to the news on Sunday even harder. Here was a promoter who had taken the right steps, and it was still that same headline – lives lost, event canceled.

With the event organizer being so on point, why does this headline keep coming up? And what can we do to stop it from happening?

Actually, a lot.

But it really all boils down to one thing: it’s time for real talk about the drug use at festivals.

If a young person chooses to use MDMA, there is drug-specific experiential information to help them make safe choices. Things like: don’t take molly in the middle of the day and stand in the middle of a packed crowd. Don‘t try to roll all three days of a festival. Don’t take multiple doses in one day. Don‘t mix substances, and if you do, wait until the effects of the first fade.

Some of this may sound controversial, but it can save lives. And right now, no one, or almost no one, is carrying these messages. The exception is a nonprofit called DanceSafe. Around since the first wave of popularity of electronic music in the United States, DanceSafe has long provided accurate, fact-based drug information and guidance on safety practices. DanceSafe, and a newcomer called Bunk Police, also provide another potentially life-saving service that has been edged out by the squeamishness around drug use – drug testing kits that can determine if the pill or powder is, in fact, MDMA.

Due to the illegal, unregulated market, MDMA can be cut with other substances like PMA that cause death. It can also be cut with “legal highs” that have different effects and will skew whatever safety strategies the individual using the drug may have planned. It makes sense to “test it before you ingest it,” but in fact these kits are considered drug paraphernalia and are illegal in some states. Certainly an event like Electric Zoo couldn’t have had pill testing onsite even if they wanted to, for the same reason they can’t provide the drug information people need: it would have crossed an invisible and yet quite sharp line in the sand that would demonstrate that everyone involved in putting on the event – city, promoter, law enforcement – knew definitively that illegal drugs would be used.

First, let me say one thing unequivocally: electronic music does not require drug use to be enjoyed, nor do you have to be on anything to have fun at festivals. Many, many people enjoy these events with nothing stronger than caffeine and enthusiasm, and some even without the caffeine (bless their energy). And yet, MDMA remains associated with the scene and some choose to use it because it adds something positive to their experience. And the added value must be considerable, because anyone who does use it risks arrest every time they bring the substance into a venue, because MDMA is illegal. Its illegality causes the environment that stifles the education and communication that saves lives. At this point, after so many deaths at festivals – and not just dance music festivals either – what responsible person can’t help but wonder if our drug laws are actually causing more of the danger that they were ostensibly put in place to prevent?

Event promoters must continue to do everything within their power to keep their attendees safe. But everyone who doesn’t want to see another headline about another young person losing his or her life must also demand real drug education and drug checking services. The dance community itself must not be afraid to question the laws and policies that lead us to a cycle of tragedy. That is actually well in line with the original “rave” spirit, and something that I personally hope the new generation of music fans will carry forward.

Stefanie Jones is event manager at the Drug Policy Alliance.

source: http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/lets...e-and-prevent-future-music-festival-tragedies
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Dancesafe has been at the last 2 festivals I was at doing free pill/substance testing.
 
I liked that viewpoint. I firmly believe the illegality of drugs stifles communication and education - especially in the most "at risk" groups I guess. I even don't like the misuse of the word "overdose," as many of these medical emergencies at festivals can happen due to many factors along with the substance ingested - this is something that the media chronically demphasizes.
 
Are there no legal uses for reagent kits? Surely non-controlled substances can be tested too. Paraphernalia laws usually only apply if the item is intended for illicit purposes. This is why tobacco pipes are legal while cannabis pipes are not. Since most states already have some kind of paraphernalia law and many do include items of analysis, it would be important to determine whether there are legal reasons to possess these reagents.

Does anyone have any idea as to a legal use for these kits? Surely other alkaloids can be identified, or perhaps something as simple as investigating impurities in household products? If we cannot find a way to fix these state laws, I fear we may have to start looking into new testing methodologies altogether.
 
I didn't even know that testing kits were considered paraphernalia.

Just checked Florida statutes (I'm sure every state has identical laws):

USE OR POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA.—It is unlawful for any person to use, or to possess with intent to use, drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, or conceal a controlled substance.

MANUFACTURE OR DELIVERY OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA.—It is unlawful for any person to deliver, possess with intent to deliver, or manufacture with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, or conceal a controlled substance.

Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony of the third degree.

Also, whoever came up with all those verbs is too fastidious! What is the practical difference between cultivate and grow? Manufacture and produce? Convert and process? Pack and contain?

"You see your honor, these baggies were not for packing drugs. They were for repacking drugs." Can't have people claiming that as a defense; we better include "repack" in there.
 
Meh, the article is terrible. Its really presumptive to assume this person died from such a substance even though they don't really know.
 
Pill testing should be as common as it is to test your beer for impurities. It's a half measure that is only needed because of the war on some drugs. I wish Joe Sixpack had a 1 in 1000 chance of a poison beer, there would be an outrage if the booze supply was tainted. Hell there would be riots.
 
In the UK no festival could ever be that open about being drug safety. Everything must be no-tolerance, or at least seen to be no-tolerance.

But I don't think people dying at festivals is news at all. For example, 2000 people die in the UK everyday. When 30,000 to 100,000 people go to one location to get wrecked for up to 5 days, I'm amazed only a few people die.
 
silverleaf;11813851 said:
Could they have died from taking fake ecstasy aka methylone?

As a certain popular internet "news" guy would say... OF COURSEE!!! in all these new articles you see now-a-days claiming that someone died or OD'd or w/e on "molly" or "MDMA" or "Extacy" is 99.999999999% of the time caused by some lame ass dumb ass toxic ass bullshitting ass "RC" (Aka Research Chemical) that some dipshit wanna be cool guy that read about the MDMA from years ago thinks he can fool people by ordering some lame ass RC online and calling it "Molly" sense all those gay ass RC's come as white powder anyways.. use ur heads guys, i know you have common logical sense!! MDMA DOES NOT EXIST LIKE IT USED TO back in the 90's and early 2000's... get with the program.8)
 
gh0stmAn;11815293 said:
As a certain popular internet "news" guy would say... OF COURSEE!!! in all these new articles you see now-a-days claiming that someone died or OD'd or w/e on "molly" or "MDMA" or "Extacy" is 99.999999999% of the time caused by some lame ass dumb ass toxic ass bullshitting ass "RC" (Aka Research Chemical) that some dipshit wanna be cool guy that read about the MDMA from years ago thinks he can fool people by ordering some lame ass RC online and calling it "Molly" sense all those gay ass RC's come as white powder anyways.. use ur heads guys, i know you have common logical sense!! MDMA DOES NOT EXIST LIKE IT USED TO back in the 90's and early 2000's... get with the program.8)

What your saying is somewhat true. MDMA is a little harder to find then it was back in the day but its out there. Get a test kit and never worry about it again.
 
BishopsBishop;11813788 said:
But I don't think people dying at festivals is news at all. For example, 2000 people die in the UK everyday. When 30,000 to 100,000 people go to one location to get wrecked for up to 5 days, I'm amazed only a few people die.

There was 200,000 at Electric zoo, 2 died saturday night and they canceled sunday :eek:

And then ran a nationwide smear campaign against MDMA
 
severely etarded;11816069 said:
There was 200,000 at Electric zoo, 2 died saturday night and they canceled sunday :eek:

And then ran a nationwide smear campaign against MDMA
I wonder how many people died/were injured in NYC during the same period of time from alcohol rated; accidents, assaults, rapes, acute alcohol poisoning, alcoholism, liver failure, etc...
 
They shut down the festival over one drug related death? Only in America. This would never happen if someone was dying from alcohol poisoning at a concert. Never.

For a festival of 200,000 people I'm surprised there weren't more deaths, statistically speaking. That's pretty remarkable.
 
I feel bad for their families. There were times that I was insanely irresponsible as a teenager( dropping 10+ pills in a night), that could have easily been me in those headlines 15 years ago. I really hope proper drug education for young people is a reality one day.
 
poledriver;11805954 said:
Pretty good article I guess.

The media hype continues against the Evil EXtasy empire
talk to anyone in the US and its obvious the law enforcement is winning the propaganda war on drugs and continues to get big dollars to do so
I read someplace it costs 34$ million per day to house drug criminals in the American prision system that includes the guy caught smoking a joint, selling a chunk of hash and the crack and heroin fiends
good luck with it all ! 8o
 
It's so stupid that they'd shut down the festival over 1 fucking death! That is just ridiculous, I'm sure it saved them a shitload of money, greedy fux.
 
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