Dealing with reality of drugs
Illicit drugs are so common that eradication seems as likely to succeed as alcohol prohibition, writes Dane Hunnerup
I’VE been working in the Tasmanian festival industry for 20 years. It’s hard to think of one that I haven’t worked or performed at. I’ve seen a lot of drug use.
I’m writing in response to the recent discussions about pill testing at festivals.
At these festivals I am surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people each year of which I would estimate at least a third are taking illicit drugs.
It is so common now that eradicating them seems as likely to succeed as alcohol prohibition.
From grade 10s buying “study aid” meds off a friend who got them off the internet through to full-on ice addicts, drug taking is the modern equivalent of colonial rum, and that ship has sailed.
Current risk assessment methods in workplace health and safety is commonly done on a scale of 1-5 and in two dimensions, likelihood of occurrence and consequence.
What are the perceived risks of drug taking?
I’ve seen and heard enough to communicate some commonly held opinions. GETTING CAUGHT — That’s a 2/5 for likelihood (unlikely) and a 4/5 for consequence (high).
Most infrequent users get away with it but probably know someone who got caught and have a good idea why; they were indiscreet, they went too big or they got unlucky. The consequence is high.
A serious charge, large reputation damage and never being able to travel to the United States, the UK and many other nations. POISONING — That’s a 1/5 for likelihood (very unlikely) and a 3/5 for consequence (moderate). Many drugs are cut with fillers, but it’s usually stuff like chalk. Drug makers do not want to make poisonous drugs because they lose business. It’s precisely because acutely toxic drugs are so rare that it’s a huge headline when someone is struck down, but there are still some makers desperate enough to use poisons in their concoctions.
As for consequence, it’s pretty common for people to think having an orange juice and going to the chill out tent for a bit will sort them out. Often they’re right. Sometimes they’re not. ADDICTION, LONG-TERM HEALTH PROBLEMS — That’s a 2/5 (unlikely) and a 2/5 for consequence (low). Of course most people think they won’t get addicted, and most of them are right. As for longterm health, we’re not seeing the early ’90s ravers afflicted with anything of mass proportions. The warning bells are not ringing loudly.
It’s important here to restate that I am not giving formally researched statistical evidence. That is the domain of the researchers. I’m stating commonly held views, and they are more than anecdotal. They have been learned from observation, questioning and reading. Let’s analyse these views. GETTING CAUGHT — The perception seems about right, but let’s add in the mix that it’s created generations that fear and resent police. POISONING — This is the big one. What we do know is that there are large factors that influence the true risk of this. The younger you are, the fewer harm reduction skills you have. You probably don’t know your source. You don’t know how strong it is. You probably don’t know to wait to see how other people react. You’re at a festival, you’re a teenager and you are invincible. Even worse if you’ve got a small body. ADDICTION, LONG-TERM HEALTH PROBLEMS — This really is the last domain of drug prohibitionists, and they might be right. The evidence however is being gathered and it is slowly moving the compass towards
relaxation and treating drugs as a high-end luxury, with a high taxation disincentive much as we do with the acute and chronic toxins that are alcohol and tobacco.
The important thing to do now is to address the dissonance between the perceived risk of poisoning and the true risk of poisoning. We will not get rid of illicit drugs, we can do our best to educate everyone but the thing we can do now to stop the difference between a bad time and a funeral, is to allow drug testing at festivals.
Change is scary, there are still unknowns in the equation, but surely the worst change is answering a call from the hospital, when they start with, “You might want to sit down”. Dane Hunnerup co-founded Music Tasmania, has worked for Arts Tasmania and has worked and/or performed at The Taste Festival, Festivale, The Unconformity, Party in the Paddock, Falls Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Clarence Jazz Festival, Mona Foma, 10 Days on the Island, Festival of Voices, One Night Stand, Spiegeltent, Junction and more. His views do not represent the views of any festival or organisation he has been involved with.
I am surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people each year of which I would estimate at least a third are taking illicit drugs.