Drug policy debates have a habit of becoming less about public health and more about personal morality. When it comes to preventing drug-related deaths at music festivals, it’s time to put your prejudices aside and get realistic, writes Jarryd Bartle
Evidence has piled up for years of the harms of illicit drugs, from pill deaths at dance festivals to longitudinal studies establishing the risks of marijuana-induced psychosis, especially in adolescent brains, writes Miranda Devine.
It’s not something most young people are comfortable talking to their parents about – drugs and taking drugs. Leading psychologist Dianna Kenny shares her tips on how to start that conversation. LISTEN NOW
It is stomach-churning work but could pave the way for contentious pill testing at future music festivals. Researcher Jonathan Brett has already made several surprise findings while testing wastewater collected from portaloos.
Peace, love and LSD. When music festivals began taking shape in the 1970s, Australia was a different place — hair was long, times were radical. Fast forward 50 years and the festival landscape couldn’t be more different. Nor could the drugs.
Sophie Horne thought about her mother as she lay on the concrete outside a music festival, convinced she was going to die. The 27-year-old had just collapsed and while friends resisted her pleas to “call a f***ing ambulance” she was suffering the effects of taking three party pills. This is her story.
It makes criminals rich, gets kids high, forces governments to spend billions on fighting crime, healthcare and drug prevention. It also kills. This is The Ripple Effect, a special multimedia report, exploring the facts and impacts of party drugs. Heading into another hot, long summer of music festivals, it is essential reading.
Half a world away from Australia’s party pill scene, Dutch park ranger Erik de Jonge is fighting his own battle – the environmental damage caused by toxic waste dumped by drug manufacturers in his forest. He took The Ripple Effect on a tour.
MDMA is deadly but that message isn’t getting through to young Australians. One young user described it as just “like taking a Panadol” and that blase attitude has medical professionals on edge ahead of another long, hot summer of music festivals.
Booze-fuelled Schoolies can get hectic. And when they do, many young school leavers are worried about calling triple-0 for help — but fortunately — they will call the pancake-cooking Red Frogs.
It’s explicit, blunt and often over the top. So why would a YouTube star with almost five million art-loving followers want to tackle the confronting world of party drugs, music festivals and overdoses? Here he explains the inspiration behind his educational two-part video series.
It promises to leave users feeling “wildly happy”. But scientists and doctors are warning the chemicals released by MDMA into the brain also interfere with the body’s internal thermostat — with deadly consequences.
Not only is it easy to find international suppliers of the chemicals needed to cook MDMA but they are also willing to coach buyers on how to get their shipments past Australia customs. It took The Ripple Effect just 15 minutes to find a potential supplier.
Stefan Woodward won’t ever come home. At just 19, he died after overdosing at an Adelaide music festival — but every night his mum Julie walks into his room, sits on his bed and cries for her son.
Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/news/rippleeffect/drugs/page/4