The Spotlight on Harm Reduction at Festivals Continues to Grow

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Mon September 21, 2015 | 00:00 AM


As festival culture continues to grow and evolve, so do the challenges in keeping the fests themselves safe, sustainable and fun. Luckily, it seems that for every report on drug-related tragedies at festivals, we now hear even louder support for harm reduction at festivals . When that reinforcement comes from the mainstream, it helps bring even more awareness to the cause. 

Substances at festivals will always be present, regardless of whether they're illegal or not. If you need proof, Playboy.com's video above states that DanceSafe saw 4,000-5,000 people seeking information from them at Lightning In a Bottle this past May (that's almost one-fifth of the entire fest). Recognizing that, the festival community needs offer a network of resources for those who stumble into difficult experiences and bad head spaces. The video does an amazing job exploring LIB's harm reduction resources (DanceSafe, The Zendo Project) and why ignorance about drug use is actually a pretty unsafe thing to have running rampant at a festival. Host Yoonj Kim makes a super astute analogy to sex education, and the dangers of preaching total abstinence instead of general and accessible education about the risks of sexual activity.

Just a few weekends ago VICE.com traveled to Bestival with drug testing kits provided by EZTest to demonstrate the surprising prevalence of drugs at festivals that are filled with (sometimes extremely harmful) impurities. Saving festies from these dodgy substances is the very foundation of harm reduction. Similarly, Noisey released an entire documentary wherein the filmmakers went to six different music festivals around the country to document drug misrepresentation as well as the harm reduction movement (the Bunk Police play a starring role). Drawing comparisons with alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century, the founder of the Bunk Police states: "Molly is the moonshine of today and people are adulterating that with synthetic cathinones, experimental amphetamines; all kinds of strange things. And it's becoming incredibly dangerous."

Even Los Angeles County's recent investigation into the drug-related deaths of two girls at HARD Summer in August prompted the Los Angeles Times give ink to harm reduction as a possible way to mitigate the risks substances pose at music festivals.

Fest300 has dedicated a ton of effort to raise awareness for the harm reduction movement. If you'd like to learn more on this growing trend in festival culture, here are some resources:

How to Help Someone Who's Tripping Out at a Festival

Zendo 6

In your festival adventures you may run across someone who is having a difficult psychedelic experience. It's important that we all take care of each other at festivals so don't abandon someone who may need your help. If the person is lost and confused there are ways you can support him or her and keep them safe. Consider assisting them in getting to the medical tent. The Zendo Project , a group based in Santa Cruz, California, provides such a space at festivals and has compiled Four Pillars of Psychedelic Support to utilize if no other help is available. This article is a guide to those four pillars. Read more.

Ask The Festival Lawyer: What's the Deal with the RAVE Act?

Given the reality that drugs will be present at festivals, why aren’t more U.S. events embracing the European and Canadian approach of drug education and harm reduction? Much of the problem is a fear on the part of owners and promoters that they may be held criminally liable under the RAVE Act. In 2002, then Senator Joe Biden introduced the “Reducing Americans Vulnerability To Ecstasy" (RAVE) Act in the Senate, a bill intended to go after “illegal” or “underground” raves. The RAVE Act created a new crime, now making it illegal for owners to “maintain a drug-involved” premise. From the start, the vagueness of this language caused problems. Read more.

I Did "Psychedelic First Aid" at a Festival in Costa Rica

Zendo Lucas

Photo by: Lucas Jushinski

It was some time after 2 am and I was sitting in front of a structure made of bamboo and cloth at Envision Festival in Costa Rica. It was warm enough that I was dressed in a tank top with a lightly glowing pink lei around my neck. There was burning sage in the tropical air and I could hear the violin from Emancipator lilting mesmerizingly from the main stage. The space felt tranquil and subdued, which was exactly what we were going for. I was embedded with The Zendo Project, a group based in Santa Cruz, California, that provides a safe space for people having difficult psychedelic experiences and other emotional or personal challenges at festivals. Read more.

Ask The Festival Lawyer: Will I Get in Trouble If I Bring Someone Overdosing to the Medical Tent?

Bonnaroo Medical Tent Cameron Bowman
Photo by: Cameron Bowman

The problem of accidental overdoses is way bigger than you might think. In fact, accidental overdoses are the second leading cause of injury death in the United States; more people die from accidental overdoses than motor vehicle accidents. What I am saying is that being a good festival buddy means taking care of your friends – and recognizing when a friend is having an overdose and getting them immediate medical attention can literally be a matter of life or death. In short, even in places where there is no formal 911 Good Samaritan law, medical staff at festivals are way more interested in getting accurate medical information than trying to bust people. Read more.

The Incredible Progressive Health Services of Shambhala Music Festival

Shambhala 2014 Art Gimbel 18

Photo by: Art Gimbel

Shambhala Music Festival provides forward-thinking services for attendee health and safety, including harm reduction, a health and safety-focused philosophy that seeks to minimize the physical and emotional damages of substance use. For its size, Shambhala is second only to Boom in Portugal (a country that has decriminalized minor drug possession entirely) in these kinds of sophisticated services. Read more.