SEPTEMBER | COVER FEATURE
High time for change
Words : Tom Hall
Drugs are becoming accepted as an inevitable part of festival culture , but the debate over mitigating risk rages on
Pragmatic harm reduction , loss of revenue and keeping your licence are just some of the issues organisers face surrounding drugs .
However , a while a duty of care for festival goers is agreed on , the ‘ how to ’ aspect of this is far from universally accepted .
The Association of Independent Festivals has weighed up these issues since its inception , and is in favour of the rollout of drug testing at festivals . “ The AIF are encouraged to see the wider roll-out of front of house Multi Agency Safety Testing ( MAST ) at more independent festivals this year , including Bestival and Boardmasters ,” chief executive Paul Reed told Access .
“ Put simply , this is about pragmatic harm reduction and the duty of care to audiences . It certainly isn ’ t and never has been about legitimising drug use or suggesting that any drug use is ‘ safe ’. Of course , all festivals have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs and must work to the best of their ability to restrict them from entering their sites .
“ However , if drugs can be smuggled into prisons they can and will be smuggled into festivals , whatever measures are put in place . With that in mind , making sure festival goers are better educated about the strength and make-up of these substances cannot be a bad thing . And , when you consider that everything from concrete to boric acid and malaria pills have been found through testing on-site at festivals , its
23