The sudden rash of drug-related deaths at electronic music events continued over the weekend as a concert-goer in Sydney, Australia died of an overdose at the Defqon. 1 Festival. The suspected cause of the death was "tainted Ecstasy." During the weekend, 14 more attendees were hospitalized.
Near the end of August, the use of Ecstasy, or "molly," in the EDM scene rose to notoriety due to a series of deaths at concerts featuring the music. Swedish producer Zedd found the opening of his tour marred in Boston due to an overdose death, and two attendees died during the Electric Zoo festival in New York City, forcing it to cancel its final day.
It seemed that the deaths might have had a positive, if late, effect on EDM concerts, because security has been amped up at recent events. More than 80 participants were arrested by security during the one-day Defqon show. However some have suggested that a larger security presence might inadvertently be causing attendees to do even more harm. The organizer of Defqon theorized that fans, knowing that they'll be searched entering the venue, may have consumed all of their pills at once, versus turning them over to police and facing charges.
As Jillionaire of Major Lazer suggested last week, part of the solution might be educating young people on how these drugs work. "Broken" ecstasy pills often take longer to "pop," or give the desired effect to a user. The user may get impatient, or think their tolerance is so high they need another. When both pills come into effect, the results can be fatal. A single ecstasy pill rarely causes critical health issues.
Again, Music Times doesn't encourage drug use in any manner, but if you're going to do it, do it responsibly.
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