Three-quarters of the Victorian festival attendees tested had unreported illicit or synthetic drugs in their blood.
Ahead of the introduction of pill testing in Victoria in time for the summer music festival season, the first study examining patients presenting to medical services at these events has been published. The study revealed that a large proportion – around 75% – of festival-goers who reported drug use and feeling unwell were impacted by drugs they were unaware of taking.
The pilot study analysed data from the Emerging Drugs Network of Australia – Victoria (EDNAV) project, led by the Victorian Poisons Information Centre in collaboration with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Victorian Department of Health. The EDNAV project is a state-wide toxicosurveillance network that gathers drug intelligence from patients presenting with drug-related toxicity at 17 public hospitals. The study focused on critically unwell festival patrons treated in on-site medical facilities at festivals serviced by St John Ambulance Victoria.
The Emerging Drugs Network study focused on
- Two multi-day electronic dance music festivals in regional Victoria
- One single-day festival in metropolitan Melbourne
- Data collected during 2022 and 2023
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The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, was led by PhD student Rebekka Syrianen and Associate Professors Jennifer Schumann and Shaun Greene from Monash University. It reported that out of 1603 individual medical encounters, 228 were related to illicit drug use. EDNAV blood samples were collected from 24 patients presenting with severe drug-related toxicity.
EDM festivals are considered high-risk due to frequent stimulant and poly-stimulant use, re-dosing, and physical activity in dense crowds. Environmental factors like high temperatures and humidity can exacerbate stimulant drug exposure, potentially leading to severe hyperthermia and multi-organ dysfunction.
The patients reported using between one and five drugs each, and up to four known drugs were confirmed by screening. The study found that:
- 17 reported using MDMA/ecstasy, while 20 tested positive for the drug
- 9 reported using ketamine, while 13 tested positive
- 9 reported using cocaine, while it was detected in 12 patients
- 18 patients tested positive for unreported drugs, including methamphetamine, synthetic stimulants, and benzodiazepines
According to Syrianen, the mixing of multiple drugs was common and consistent with previous studies: “polydrug use was the rule, rather than the exception, being both commonly reported to staff and confirmed analytically,” she said.
“What was alarming was that new psychoactive substances were detected in just under half of the sampled cohort, despite not being reported as intentionally used by any patient.”
According to Associate Professor Schumann, “polydrug use is common amongst those requiring emergency medical care at festivals, particularly those experiencing severe drug toxicity,” she said.
“What is concerning about these findings, is the discordance between reported illicit drug use and corresponding analytical confirmation was identified in 18 patients, with some of the unreported drugs potentially indicative of drug adulteration or substitution.”
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