Drug Use at Music Festivals: Why Is It So Common?

Dominant and/or repeated codes were then categorized into themes and quotations were extracted from transcripts that the reviewers believed to adequately summarize specific topics and themes. After a consensus was reached regarding classification of codes and themes, quotations in each how long alcohol stays your system urine & blood test domain were summarized to present a comprehensive picture. But in general, people overwhelmed by drugs may seem sweaty, unresponsive, incoherent, or unconscious. If you’re worried about peer pressure to take drugs while at a festival, pair up with someone who also wants to stay sober.

The study by drugabuse.com also found that festival goers abused drugs or alcohol more in some music event genres than in others. Additionally, in the environments of certain music festivals — where there is a lot of physical activity or the ambient temperature is very high — certain drugs like MDMA can cause the body to rapidly overheat. This can send the user into hyperthermia, which can cause everything from strokes and organ failures to death. Sexual predators can also take advantage of people who are feeling disoriented from drug intoxication.

drug use at music festivals

Treatment for drug addiction usually begins with detox, which should be done at a treatment facility, as drug withdrawals can be especially dangerous. Depending on the substance you are using, detox can take anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks. Illicit drugs like Ecstasy and Cocaine don’t come with an ingredient list, and it’s nearly impossible to tell if they have been laced with Fentanyl unless you test them with Fentanyl test strips. Even in small amounts, Fentanyl can be extremely deadly, making any level of illicit drug use potentially dangerous. When compared with other illicit drugs, such as Cocaine, which can be lethal in doses around 1.2 grams, Fentanyl can be lethal in as little as 2 milligrams. CDPH said Fentanyl is found in Cocaine, Ecstasy and other drugs – not just Heroin.

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Addictionlink also provides information for those who want to quit smoking. You can contact the Finnish Student Health Service, FSHS, if you are not feeling mentally well or worried about your alcohol or drug use. We want to ensure you are prepared and comfortable throughout your treatment experience at Boca Recovery Center.

These types of festivals are also typically held in the height of summer, with many in locations that can exceed 100 degrees in the daytime. This, combined with alcohol and drug use, can cause severe dehydration, which can increase the risk for a drug overdose. The warnings by CDPH are not the first to be made by the city, nor are they first to be made regarding a music festival.

  • While some people may enjoy the effects of these drugs, others may find them uncomfortable or frightening.
  • If you think your readers will agree, please share this project for non-commercial purposes.
  • These responses could be an indicator of use among other sub-populations or of use occurring in other settings, outside of the festival arena.
  • The survey ran for 5 months ; the period of interest was 2018 to 2019.
  • Of the survey respondents who said they had sex after taking drugs at the festival, 66% reported that their sex was unprotected.

Moving forward, the provision of drug identification services could support surveys to ensure the accurate reporting and monitoring of emerging drug trends in nightlife settings which could help inform early harm-reduction responses. Day et al. collected data from over 650 music festival-goers in Australia. Of all participants, 86.2% agreed that free drug-checking services ought to be provided at music festivals, with 67.5% agreeing that if they were not offered for free, they should still be available at a cost. Barratt et al. conducted a similar study with the intent of identifying the parameters in which a drug-checking service could be provided to consumers.

Growing Popularity of Music Festivals

Alyssa ValentinAlyssa is Banyan’s Director of Digital Marketing & Technology. After overcoming her own struggles with addiction, she began working in the treatment field in 2012. She graduated from Palm Beach State College in 2016 with additional education in Salesforce University programs. A part of the Banyan team since 2016, Alyssa brings over 5 years of experience in the addiction treatment field.

Participants travelled extensively to attend festivals with 52% reporting the use of drugs at a festival abroad. A total of 20 different countries across three continents were cited. When asked for additional comment on using drugs abroad, several respondents indicated that their experience was ‘much stronger than at home’, that is of a higher potency drug compared to what they consume in Ireland.

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drug use at music festivals

However, no significant differences were found between responders and non-responders in age and gender. The vast majority of respondents stated they were somewhat or highly likely to use a drug checking service at a festival (87.1%). Barratt et al. found that 94% of people would use drug checking service located at festivals or clubs. This supports the theory that drug checking services would potentially be utilised at festivals if offered. However, Barratt and colleagues also found that that 94% would not utilise the service if there was a chance of being arrested and two out of three also would not use the service if they would not be provided with individual results. While the answer to staying safe from Fentanyl at music festivals is to avoid illicit drug use altogether, health officials say that should attendees decide to use, they should do so safely.

Even Occasional Drug Use At Music Festivals Can Lead To Addiction

Alcohol really dehydrates you and if you’re taking a stimulant or something that’s going to really dehydrate you, and you don’t have enough water, that’s a problem. So, we had one festival where they attributed deaths to ‘bath salts’ or Molly. You know there was this story of kids in Australia that got a festival shut down because a bunch of 19-year-olds were playing a game of who could take the most drugs.

drug use at music festivals

In the last year, Chicago alone has seen over 1,300 Fentanyl-related overdoses. Fentanyl now accounts for nearly 70% of all Opioid-related deaths in the United States, with a growing number of overdoses occurring at events such as raves or music festivals. If you choose to use drugs at a music festival, you can utilize someharm reduction approaches to reduce the risks.

Living With an Addict: Different Ways to Cope With Recovery

While the 60s are long over, drug use at music festivals is still common. One survey found that 75% of participants admitted to drinking alcohol at music festivals, 38% admitted to smoking marijuana, and about 13% admitted to using ecstasy.1 Why this trend? Why are so many more people drinking or using drugs at music festivals than the general population? While there is not a lot of research about music festivals directly, our inpatient detox center in Pennsylvania has a few thoughts on the matter.

Drug Use at Music Festivals: Everything You Need to Know

I think there’s a cultural acceptance of being able to get really, really fucked up at a festival and go crazy. It’s their vacation and they’re going to party as hard as they can. I think they’re more likely to get garbage at a festival because you don’t have the assumption of a repeat buyer. Like if I know my dealer, if I buy stuff from him and I have a shitty time on it, I’m not gonna buy his stuff again and he knows that. It’s a 3-day festival, you’ll be going back to your part of the country, they’ll be going back to theirs, that’s the end of it.

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a drug used to help reverse the symptoms of an overdose and save lives. In addition, drugs like MDMA can cause dehydration and overheating, which can be dangerous in a crowded and chaotic environment like a music festival. Because of the drug-related harm involved, it is important to be aware of the dangers of using drugs at music festivals relationship between bone mineral density and alcohol intake and ensure that you stay safe if you attend one of these events. Before the 21st century, there were just a few multi-day music festivals. Woodstock is the earliest recognized festival, advertised as “three days of peace and music” — and drugs. The most commonly used drug that weekend was marijuana; 80 people were arrested for using the drug but none were taken into custody.

Who Attends Music Festivals?

Festivalgoers should ensure they remain hydrated and consume food if they’re also drinking alcohol. A significant strength of this study is that it is, to our knowledge, the first extensive national survey of festival attendees to measure drug trends and related behaviours and attitudes towards drug-checking services. A total of 1193 Irish festival attendees living in Ireland over the age of 18 completed an anonymous online survey.