Day 2 of Freaknight Festival Canceled Due to Reported Drug Overdose

Halloween is a time of spookiness and celebration with some of the biggest parties taking place across the country. One of those in Seattle, FreakNight Festival — on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1 and hosted by West Coast dance music event promotor USC Events — was tragically canceled on Day 2 after what is being reported as a "molly-related" drug overdose.

Taking place at Century Link Field, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the MLS's Seattle Sounders, USC Events's FreakNight Festival boasted one of the biggest lineups of disc jockeys across the country. With mega-stars like Alesso, Kaskade, Carl Cox and Tiësto slated to perform with rising talents like Galantis, Oliver Heldens, Dyro, Ilan Bluestone and Snails, USC Events was looking to continue blazing the trail it has set in the Pacific Northwest.

Unfortunately, reportedly things did not end well for one reveler on Night 1. According to KiroTV 7 Seattle,

"Dr. Alexander Garrard with Washington Poison Center told KIRO 7 that a man in his 20s overdosed from the drug 'Molly' after attending FreakNight on Friday night.

"Another person who attended the same event overdosed on the same drug and is hospitalized in critical condition as of Saturday evening, according to Garrard."

According to the Seattle Times, there were more hospitalizations on the first night as well as in addition to the overdose:

"Kyle Moore, a Seattle Fire Department spokesman, said 18 medics and emergency medical technicians were inside the party Friday night. He said 16 partygoers were taken to Harborview, including six who were seriously ill. Those six had symptoms of possible drug use, but all were alive when they reached the hospital between about 1 and 2 a.m., Moore said."

This is not the first time USC Events has had someone overdose at one of its events. Its flagship festival, Paradiso, was marred by a drug overdose and dozens hospitalized in 2013. While this is only two events of the dozens thrown each year, an unhealthy trend is developing. We hope it takes the necessary steps to ensure the safety of its revelers, which could possibly include free water stations — a trend becoming the norm at festivals across the nation.

USC Events released the below statement on the matter saying: "Out of an abundance of caution, late on Saturday a decision was made to cancel the second night of the event" and stated information for refunds will be available tomorrow.

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