Dozens of drug deaths at music festivals potentially preventable, study finds

More than 60 music festival drug-related deaths over 20 years could have potentially been prevented, with experts saying the new study analysing national coronial records bolsters the case for pill testing.

The deaths include dozens of Australian festivalgoers who died after consuming dangerous levels of MDMA, often known as ecstasy – the same substance involved in a mass overdose at an electronic music festival in Melbourne this month that left a teenager in critical condition.

An MDMA pill which was linked to a 2022 death at a music festival in Melbourne.Credit: Victoria Police

Associate Professor Jennifer Schumann, from Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine, who led the study, believes that a drug checking service could have helped prevent a number of the deaths. That’s because the median concentration of MDMA detected in those who died was above the range usually associated with overdoses.

The study uncovered 64 drug-linked deaths of concert and festival attendees between 2000 and 2019, including 24 in NSW, 17 in Victoria and 14 in Queensland.

NSW teenager Alex Ross-King died from a drug overdose at a Sydney music festival in 2019.

The study is likely to add to pressure on the NSW and Victorian governments to introduce pill testing at high-risk events or trial a service.

“What are we waiting for?” Schumann said.

She said people didn’t know what they were taking, sometimes because the purity was different to what they were used to or because different drugs altogether were present in formulations.

Two young men died after attending Knockout Outdoor festival in Sydney last year. In Victoria, four coroners in six years have called for a pill-testing service, most recently after investigating the death of a 26-year-old man seen taking a “Blue Punisher” MDMA pill in March 2022.

In 2019, 19-year-old Alex Ross-King died after “double-dumping” her MDMA pills to avoid getting caught by police at Sydney’s FOMO festival on a hot summer’s day, a NSW Coroners Court heard.

Of the 64 deaths identified by the study – the first of its kind in Australia – 38 involved MDMA. Alcohol was the second-most common drug found, present in 30 cases; cannabis was present in 11 cases; ketamine in 10; and diazepam, often known as Valium, was found in nine.

Most cases involved the use of two or more drugs, and the vast majority were unintentional.

Some deaths were directly caused by overdoses, while two dozen people suffered fatal injuries after using drugs, such as being hit by a vehicle.

In one case, a festivalgoer died after “panic-consuming” MDMA before entering a festival, worried that drug-detection dogs would be in attendance.

The deaths were detailed in the study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

The average age of the people who died was 23 years, with the youngest 15 and the eldest 50. Almost three-quarters were male.

“Harm reduction strategies, such as roving first aid volunteers, mobile medical care, spaces to rest, hydration stations and drug checking services, may best address some of the risks associated with illicit drug use at festivals, in addition to increased consumer education and awareness,” the study says.

Presented with the study’s findings on Monday, both the NSW and Victorian governments suggested there would be no immediate change to their drug policies.

“There are no current plans to trial drug checking,” a Victorian government spokeswoman said.

“Any overdose or adverse health outcome is distressing, and we send our thoughts to anyone who has been affected by the impact of illegal drugs.”

Before winning government in March last year, NSW Premier Chris Minns had promised to hold a drug summit if elected, bringing together a range of addiction and health experts. A date for the summit has yet to be set.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed on Monday the summit would happen this year. He said it was a priority, “but so is a range of other things”.

A NSW government spokesman said later that “very real questions on pill testing” remained.

“It doesn’t test for all substances. And it doesn’t take into account an individual’s physiology.”

Revellers at the Hardmission festival at Flemington Racecourse, where a mass overdose event occurred.

Last year, Queensland announced that it would become the first Australian state to introduce pill testing.

Dr Martin Dutch, a senior clinical research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s critical care department, has been attending music festivals for two decades to help care for sick attendees.

He explained that MDMA was dangerous, particularly in hot weather, because it worked to both increase the heat people generate, but also impair the body’s capacity to discharge the heat.

“This is why we see sporadic, occasional hyperthermic cases at many music festival events, but on hot days, we see large clusters of hyperthermic patients.”

Hyperthermia is a life-threatening condition where the body’s temperature surpasses 40 degrees.

A female teenager remains in a critical condition after nine people fell gravely ill after attending the Hardmission electronic music festival in Flemington on January 6, when temperatures had reached 33 degrees.

Another two patients remain in a stable condition at the St Vincent’s and Royal Melbourne hospitals.

Dutch argued there was a strong case for the introduction of pill testing at music festivals, though he said it wasn’t the only solution, and the service was probably misunderstood.

“I think pill testing is a bad label for what is being offered. If we called it, ‘Ten minutes with an alcohol and drug counsellor that also had a list of what [substances] you were taking’, I think members of the public would accept that. And politicians particularly would find that more attractive.”

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is also calling for a wider rollout of pill testing, arguing it’s not about condoning drug use, but saving lives.

“Staff at these services can talk to [young people] free of judgment about why they are using drugs and the issues in their lives that might be driving the drug use,” said the college’s president Dr Nicole Higgins.

“They can also provide advice on how to stay safe when, for example, hot weather leads to increased risk of hyperthermia when taking drugs like MDMA.”

With Max Maddison

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