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An NSW Coronary Investigation investigating a series of drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals has garnered testimony that festivalgoers were taking multiple simultaneous doses of MDMA to avoid being spotted by police and not receive adequate medical care.
However, the lack of knowledge about drug use patterns and the demographic profile of festivalgoers has prevented the ability to develop evidence-based policy responses.
Yesterday we published two data reports to inform the survey and shed light on these trends. Both reports are based on data from more than 5,000 Australian festivalgoers who have participated in the Global Drug Survey since the end of 2018.
It suggests common badumptions about Australian festival-goers and the risks they take may be wrong.
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Testing the festivalgoers' drugs is not the only way to reduce overdoses. Here is what works
Who goes to music festivals and what are the medications festivalgoers take?
Most of the Australian music festival participants we sampled were young (with an average age of 22.4 years), male (55%), heterobadual (76%) and white (87%).
They were well educated and most were employed (85.6%). Very few reported being convicted criminally (6%).
And while it is often badumed that people who attend festivals are "hardcore" or hard-working regulars, almost half (49.6%) reported participating in only one or two festivals a year.
The most common drug that they took, unsurprisingly, was alcohol. Among the illicit substances, the most commonly used were MDMA, cannabis and cocaine.
We asked about drug use in all contexts, not just festivals, not just the day of the festival.
While almost half (44%) reported drinking alcohol weekly or more often, 64% drank at least five drinks of ordinary drinks.
Festivalgoers who used MDMA reported using it ten times in the last 12 months. Those who have used cocaine have generally done it five times in the last 12 months.
Although NSW's coronal survey focuses on the use of MDMA and public debate on festival safety, our data shows that alcohol remains the main factor of drug-related harm among festival-goers.
Krists Luhaers
Experiences of festival-goers with the police
Our badysis showed that most festival-goers (75%) reported having met police in connection with their drug use in the last 12 months. Some 69% reported having experienced drug dogs at festivals
This is of concern because dogs that detect drugs are often traumatic and may lead to more harmful practices, such as taking multiple doses to avoid detection.
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Why do drug detection dogs detect the wrong tree?
NSW festival-goers were 1.3 times more likely to report encounters with drug-detecting dogs than those in other states (79% vs. 62%). This is notable, as our previous badysis showed that encounters with drug-detecting dogs are already seven times more common in Australia than in New Zealand.
Who is seeking medical treatment?
Few festivalgoers we sampled consulted a doctor. Only 280 respondents (6%) reported having sought the help of a doctor after consuming alcohol or other drugs at least once in the last 12 months. From these data, we can not know where these young people were when they asked for medical help, whether at a festival or in the community.
Young women aged 16 to 20 were the most likely to report having sought medical help after drinking alcohol or other drugs (8.7%), followed by young people men of the same age group (7.3%). Only 4.9% of men aged 21 and over and 5.2% of women in the same age group said they asked for help.
Festival-goers with alcohol problems were more likely to seek help (4.3% of users) than those who experienced difficulties after using other drugs, including MDMA (2.5%), LSD (1.48%), cannabis (0.96%) and cocaine (0.67%). %).
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How is MDMA killing?
Festival goers looking for help with alcohol consumption usually drank 15 standard alcoholic beverages.
The most common symptoms reported here were nausea or vomiting (45%), accidents, trauma (40%) or fainting (37%). Some 65% reported being hospitalized.
Those seeking help after taking MDMA generally consume three tablets or 0.4 g during the session. The majority (56%) reported taking a higher dose of MDMA than usual on this occasion.
Only 28% said they started the session with a smaller "test dose" of MDMA.
Marvin Meyer
Most (81%) reported badociating MDMA with alcohol or other illicit drugs. And most of those who drank alcohol with the MDMA said that they were "already drunk" before taking MDMA.
The most common symptoms that they experienced were confusion (40%), anxiety and panic (40%) and a very bad mood in the following days (40%). Nearly half (48%) reported being hospitalized.
What do these data tell us?
While the focus is understandable on the harms of illicit drugs, the use of illicit drugs among Australian festival-goers seems to be occasional and not a problem.
Nevertheless, there is a small but significant group of young people who experience higher rates of drug-related harm.
To reduce this damage, we should expand access to peer education services, such as those provided by the DanceWize team. DanceWize provides credible information about party safety. It provides harm reduction services, including crowd support services (water, sunscreen and information). It also hosts a secure area for festival goers.
We should also develop the number of on-site drug control service trials in and out of festivals (for example, hospitality services in urban centers). Drug Control Services (or pill tests) invite members of the public to anonymously submit samples of drugs for forensic badysis purposes, then provide individualized feedback of results and advice, as appropriate .
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Here's Why Doctors Support Pill Tests At Music Festivals In Australia
Given their high rates of law enforcement, especially with drug-detecting dogs, Australian festival-goers may be reluctant to seek medical advice or support if they fear being discovered. in possession of drugs.
The reduction of the use of drug-detecting dogs in festivals, as well as the development of non-criminal alternatives for possession and personal use offenses, should be prioritized to restore balance between public health and public safety.
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