One man died and six others were hospitalised after a suspected mass drug overdose at Dreamstate music festival in Sydney on Saturday night (February 7th).
Police said a number of patrons suffered “medical episodes” at the techno festival at Sydney Olympic Park around 11:30pm. These included “two urgent medical transfers and three non-urgent transfers to hospital.”
NSW Police confirmed a man in his 40s, who has not been formally identified, died at the scene. Another person remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The man who died is believed to have gone into cardiac arrest after taking illicit substances. A possible mass overdose event is being investigated by NSW Police, Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy, John Graham, confirmed.
“This death has reignited the debate over government-run pill testing at festivals,” Graham said. “It is a reminder that pill testing that has been going on is very important.”
Dreamstate are yet to make a statement regarding the death, Rolling Stone AU/NZ has contacted festival organisers for comment.
The NSW Government introduced pill testing at music festivals last year, with Wollongong’s Yours and Owls hosting the first-ever trial. Festivalgoers were given access to a free service run by a government agency, led by qualified staff from NSW Health, to test their pills for purity, potency, and adulterants. Previous festivals with the green light to test gear had done so with programs run by private companies or NGOs.
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For years, organisers of festivals including Yours and Owls have advocated for pill testing, as they acknowledge that an ‘abstinence-only approach’ to drug use at festivals is not the right way to address the problem, Rather, harm minimisation needs to be prioritised.
Other trials took place at other major festivals including Beyond the Valley, Pitch, Lost Paradise, and more recently, Laneway Festival’s Sydney leg, which took place the same weekend as Dreamstate.
Earlier in the week, ahead of Dreamstate and Laneway Festival, NSW Health had issued a warning about high-dose MDMA that had been detected through the pill testing services. Some tablets had also been found to contain dipentylone, a synthetic psychoactive stimulant.
“We are concerned about the prolonged detection of these high-dose MDMA tablets and are urging the community to be aware and vigilant, particularly for those people attending major festivals over the next few weeks,” Dr Darren Roberts, Medical Director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, said.
