Happy Daze festival organisers respond to reports of illicit drug overdose
They say in the eight years they have run the event, they have never once had a drug overdose.
Mackay
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The directors of a Mackay Whitsunday region music festival say a man was taken to hospital suffering from dehydration, not a drug overdose.
It follows a Queensland Police Service spokesman stating a 23-year-old man had overdosed on illicit drugs at the Happy Daze Festival at Yalboroo on Saturday afternoon.
Director Ben Irving said there was a registered nurse on site to help the man.
He said that in the eight years they had run festivals, they had never had a drug overdose.
Mr Irving said they had four experienced medical teams at the three-day-event as well as freely available water, security and a harm minimisation team that constantly walked around to check on attendees.
“We’re pretty proactive with it all,” he said.
“If people look like they’re getting a bit wild, we make sure they’re hydrated.
“We check their vitals and if need be, take them straight to the medic.”
Regarding police stating they had charged a “handful” of people with possession of dangerous drugs, Mr Irving said those persons were intercepted on their way to the festival.
“If people are stupid enough to bring drugs into the festival, we’re fine with police doing what they’re doing,” he said.
With the Happy Daze festival running for the last time this year, Mr Irving said it was frustrating for the event to have been associated with drug-taking.
He said most attendees did not take drugs and were on their own spiritual journey, with guests including vegetarians, yoga enthusiasts and even seniors.
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About 2000 people attended the event halfway between Mackay and Proserpine, which had the music line-up shuffled at the last minute because of the Melbourne lockdown.
Mr Irving and fellow director Natalie Barnes have run the Happy Daze event for eight years which attracted overseas visitors.
“It’s been a good run but it’s a lot of work,” he said.
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