Another EDM Ecstasy Death Mars Manchester's Warehouse Project

Some electronic music performers have accused the media of putting too much attention on drug overdoses at EDM events, but it's hard not to cast a suspicious eye when the incidents have stacked up as much as they have in the last month. The ugly trend continued Friday night in Manchester when a 30 y.o. attendee of the Warehouse Project died and five others were hospitalized after taking what police described as "bad pills."

"Police were also made aware that five people have been admitted to hospital feeling unwell after taking a controlled drug," police said. "It is possible that there may be a particularly bad batch of drugs out there in the community and that is a concern to us."

Warehouse Project is a 12-week concert series that's been held since 2006. Organizers for the concert sent out their condolences and encouraged concertgoers to behave responsibly, and not to fear seeking out medical attention if something feels wrong. There have been no indications as of press time that further concerts in the series will be cancelled due to Friday's issues.

MDMA, more popularly known as ecstasy or "molly" in its powdered form, has been suspected in many of the drug-related deaths at EDM events during 2013. The final day of New York City's Electric Zoo was cancelled after two attendees died due to overdose, a concertgoer died at producer Zedd's tour opener in Boston, and another man died at Australia's Defqon 1 festival. Any death is one too many, but the number of fans rushed to hospitals due to overdoses dwarfs the more publicized death count.

Although problems with drug use in the EDM scene is something that needs addressing by performers and fans, many concert promoters are tackling the issue by simply canceling concerts. Long Island's Electric Tomato Festival was recently cancelled, and the University of Massachusetts cancelled campus shows from performers including Above & Beyond and Pretty Lights. We don't have an easy solution, but killing the music can't be it.

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EDM