http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/drug-use-at-festival-revealed-in-figures...
So figures have just been revealed showing the extent of drug use at British festivals.
According to statistics, Glasto is the festival with the most drugs, with the amount seized coming to £44,869.
Isle of Wight Festival's came in second at £27,410, and Bestival third, at £18,479.
According to the article: "In total, at the ten major festivals — Glastonbury, Isle of Wight Festival, Bestival, V, Download, Sonisphere, Leeds, Reading, Womad and Wireless — the total value of seized drugs last year was £101,681."
And it seems cocaine and MDMA are the most in demand.
So I am not stupid, I know drugs are readily available at festivals, but still, reading these figures always scares me. I know friends who have took things at festivals, and it continues to bother me. I am just waiting for the day when they consume something pumped full of rat poison or something and have a serious accident...:(.
I personally do not touch any drugs, and I plan to stay this way.
Luckily, I have never been offered them either.
But I just wondered what your personal experience has been with drugs at festivals?
Do you take them?
Do your friends take them?
Or do you avoid them?
Even if you avoid them - have you been exposed to them? Have you seen them being took, or have you even been offered them?
I look forward to an interesting discussion.
2012, May 30 - 8:02pm
Well I can only wish that I found these statistics surprising but lets face it, I think most people realise that drugs are everywhere at festivals. I have never personally taken any drugs at festivals because they really aren’t my kind of thing but I know there are plenty of people that have taken them.
People really should be careful about buying drugs from random people; it would totally freak me out!
Generally I think people take drugs in groups and therefore sometimes there is quite a bit of peer pressure involved! Although I won’t use this an excuse for people because simply people do make their own decisions.
I can almost forgive people for using softer drugs because I know there are plenty of people that take part in this all of the time.
More than anything I think it is down to the organisers of festivals to increase the security and to perform more searches. I would expect that in the future things will change in relation to how many drugs are taken at festivals.
2013, April 20 - 7:38pm
If I am spending all this money to attend a festival I want to remember it. If I am I all drugged out I won't remember it. I stay away from that scene myself because I never seen anything good come from it.
2013, April 21 - 1:13am
That really doesn't surprise me, but it's pretty scary and sad. I don't use drugs myself, but I definitely enjoy more beers than I probably should! ;)
2013, May 14 - 6:31pm
I avoid them. Although back in school, it went on, I had no idea that it goes on at festivals! I am surprised that it this has gone on without law enforcement getting involved in any way. Some may be new to some places, but obviously more of this seem to be going on than not. When the media gets involved, then the raids may start..or is it the other way around?
2013, May 14 - 9:37pm
I'm right with you....I don't take drugs and have no interest in it, but I have friends who do and it can be worrying sometimes. There's not much you can do if people want to try things, though.
2013, May 15 - 4:55pm
I just feel like if you are going to do drugs, there are much safer places to do it than at festivals. At a festival, you'll be getting hot and dehydrated, which can make things worse, and you will also be unfamiliar surroundings around a lot of people that you don't know, which can make things a lot less safe. Drug use is dangerous anyway, but I think it's especially so at large music festivals.
2013, May 15 - 8:23pm
I do remember someone smoking weed. When people smoke cigarettes and it blows in my face that makes me mad whether it is at a festival or at a bus stop. I hate the smell and I have to worry about second hand smoke,
2013, May 15 - 10:49pm
I don't use drugs, and from my experience drugs are banned in festivals.. but that definitely doesn't stop people bringing them in somehow. I agree with others that a music festival is a dangerous place to use drugs, though, too many unfamiliar people, who knows what could happen.
2013, May 16 - 11:13am
Drug use is almost as common at a festival as the music itself. I've taken drugs at a festival before but now that I'm a little older and more experienced I don't do drugs at all anymore. Still, if you know what to look for, you'll see that drug dealing and taking is rampant at festivals. I've heard of numerous instances of people who go to festivals purely because it's an easy market to peddle drugs in, which is a real shame in my opinion.
2013, May 16 - 6:06pm
It seems that drugs play a major role in almost all music festivals, psychedelics mainly. Its not uncommon to see blatant drug use out in the open at the smaller festivals (fools ball, etc). Smaller festivals usually have better quality drugs, for cheaper, sometimes free. But there are the larger festivals, such as Burning Man, where drugs are EVERYWHERE but nobody really pushes them on you. If you believe can handle it and are atleast 18, at least try a hit of LSD at a festival, it completely changes the way you feel about the music being played, but, be around your closest friends if it is your first time. Taking psychedelics in a large public setting can be terrifying.