Two attendees are dead after attending Defqon.1 Festival in Sydney, reports local authorities. A man, 23, and a woman, 21, collapsed at the festival around 9pm on Saturday and died a short time later in nearby Nepean hospital, police said on Sunday.
The festival has reportedly been rampant with drug use this year, with 13 people transported to a hospital for drug-related issues while another 700 people sought assistance from medical staff on-site.
Three people who were transported to hospitals are in critical condition, a Jamisontown woman, 26, who is at Nepean hospital, and an Artarmon man, 19, who was flown to Westmead hospital and is in intensive care. Another man is in a critical condition at Liverpool hospital.
The festival has a zero-tolerance policy on drug use.
“This means that all types of soft- and hard drugs are prohibited. If drugs are found, you will be handed over to the police,” a statement on the festival’s website said.
The premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, has vowed to get the festival banned.
“I’m absolutely aghast at what has occurred,” she said, “I don’t want any family to go through the tragedy that some families are waking up to this morning, it’s just horrible to think about.
“We will do everything we can to shut this down. I don’t want to see this event happen again. Young lives lost for no no reason.”
via Daily Star, Guardian
CLosing down festivals is not the answer to fight drugs. It only makes it worse. Why not use these festivals to spread some support for drug users?