Drug Safety and Harm Reduction for Music Festivals.

Despite ongoing vigilance by music festival organisers the use of illegal narcotics at events continues with the inevitable health risks associated with drug use. It’s common to have security protocols to confiscate substances and prepare for on-site health emergencies but how do organisers implement a balanced approach for festival-goer drug safety.

Although many festival organisers publicly state that they have a zero-tolerance policy regarding narcotics on site in reality, they often implement a more holistic approach to ensure the safety of all festival-goers. The emergence of new variations of drugs and increased toxicity is creating significant concerns for organisers of large music festivals. It can be almost impossible to confiscate all suspicious substances from festival-goers during security screening, and it is inevitable that some get through and are consumed on-site during the event. What dangers are associated with these emerging narcotics and how can organisers reduce and manage potential on-site medical emergencies.

Emerging Narcotics.
The biggest rising risk and concern for narcotics use is no longer festival-goers taking too much of something, but the increased toxicity of emerging narcotics. Synthetic opioids like Nitazenes and Fentanyl are increasingly being found in non-opioid drugs like MDMA, cocaine, and counterfeit Benzos. The consequences of this are that users are now more likely to take something that they didn't intend to. The dangers are increased because synthetic opioids like Nitazenes can be up to 100x more potent than fentanyl. Even more concerning is the appearance of Xylazine ("Tranq"), a veterinary sedative that is being added to the cocaine supply. Xylazine is not opioid based, so use does not respond to Naloxone, the emergency life-saving medication that is used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses.

Festival and Government Policies.
Most countries have strict legislation in place for the supply, possession and use of narcotics, where music festivals have long had a reputation for extensive drug consumption. Festivals often have a strong police presence to detect and apprehend anyone caught in possession of narcotics and organisers implement thorough searches and screening at entrances in line with their zero-tolerance policies. Despite these measures festival-goers still managed to smuggle narcotics into events and usage remains prevalent. The consequences have seen drug-related medical emergencies continue. Organisers and authorities now take a more pragmatic view by implementing "Back of House" (BOH) Testing, where security or medical teams test confiscated or discarded drugs. This enables them to detect potentially lethal drugs and then warn all festival-goers that these are in circulation at the event. These on-site testing facilities are now commonly endorsed by authorities in the US, Europe and Australia because they see their use as organisers providing a duty of care service.

Festival Site Welfare.
Aside from the on-site drug testing facilities used by organisers they also provide dedicated medical facilities and welfare centres for use by festival-goers. The focus of organisers is to provide a service to festival-goers who may be considering consumption of unknown substances. They provide welfare services including Immunoassay Strips which can identify Nitazene and Fentanyl; these are cheap, fast, and highly sensitive. There is an increased awareness amongst festival organisers about the possible effects of drug use at their events and aside from physical medical facilities that are geared up for drug related emergencies; they also provide psychological first aiders. The availability of Naloxone is also becoming more prevalent at many festivals with staff and volunteers regularly carrying nasal sprays, in some cases Narcan Vending Machines can be installed throughout a festival site. The development of services like BunkBot enable the generation of automated SMS messages updating festival-goers about testing kit availability plus alerts about potential lethal drugs circulating at an event.

The Balanced Approach.
Festival organisers are increasingly taking a welfare first approach that prioritises the health and welfare of everyone on a festival site. Entry security screening is still one of the primary harm reduction measures that can be taken as it prevents narcotics from ever entering a festival site, ultimately reducing usage by festival-goers. Festival staff and volunteers are now encouraged to take a more holistic approach to balancing security enforcement with safety protocols. Staff and volunteer training is now more likely to include overdose identification particularly where Nitazene use is suspected.

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Image by MART PRODUCTION via pexels

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