As fans gear up for music festival, police issue drug safety appeal

After 17 people were hospitalized at an event last summer, Calgary police and AHS are warning music festival-goers that no street drugs are free of danger.

“There simply is no such thing as a safe street drug or a test that can guarantee the drug you are taking is what your dealer says it is,” said Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta in a written release Thursday.

“Deadly synthetic drugs may be contained within any pill, powder or tablet you consume.”

The warning comes days before Calgary electronic music festival Chasing Summer kicks off on Saturday.

At last year’s event, 17 people were taken to hospital for drug and alcohol-related issues. Ten were hospitalized the year before.

Though some festivals offer drug-testing stations, the medical officer of health for AHS, Calgary zone, said safety still isn’t guaranteed. Users can still react badly to a substance or accidentally take too much.

“While pill testing at events is a potentially helpful method of identifying the presence of one or more drugs in a pill, it can also provide attendees with a false sense of security as they are not able to determine how much of a drug is present, or screen for other toxic ingredients,” said Dr. Nick Etches.

Etches also said the heat, crowds and potential for mixing drugs and alcohol found at festivals only add to the danger.

“Drugs like ecstasy, PMMA or MDMA can lead to people becoming very sick, and hot environments and dehydration only further increase this risk,” said Etches.