Falls Festival Issues Warning About ‘Dangerous Orange Pill’ To Punters
It follows the death of a 22-year-old man who attended NSW festival Lost Paradise.
Falls Festival has sent out a warning about a “dangerous orange pill” to punters heading to its Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay festivals, one day after a 22-year-old man died from an ‘unknown substance’ at Lost Paradise, a separate music festival in NSW.
A mass text message arrived on attendee’s phones Sunday afternoon. “SERIOUS DRUG ALERT: There is an extremely dangerous orange pill in circulation,” it read. “Regardless of pill variation, one pill can kill. Seek medical if you feel unwell.”
This text message has just been sent to those at the Falls Festival site in Marion Bay, highlighting a dangerous drug is in circulation. pic.twitter.com/LLixwjktQy
— Monte Bovill (@MonteBovill) December 30, 2018
A longer statement (below) was shared across the Festival’s social media accounts. In it, the festival notes they had not had any pill-related issues so far at the festival, but were made aware of the pill’s circulation across Australia.
“We want to remind everyone of the potentially fatal risks that come with illicit substances,” it read. “You do not know what is in them, how your body will react, there is no safe level of consumption.”
The festival also advised punters who felt ill/had ill friends to immediately seek medical attention, stating the event and medical teams are “here to help you without judgement.”
The warning arrives after a 22-year-old man’s overdose on Saturday at Gosford Hospital on NSW’s Central Coast, where he was rushed to after attending Lost Paradise. Two people were also hospitalised at the event, and multiple people have been charged with drug supplies, including a 21-year-old allegedly found with more than 100 MDMA pills.
The drug-related death was the fourth at a NSW music festival since September, beginning with two overdoses at Defqon.1. The deaths have prompted NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to adopt a hardline approach to drug supply and use, which includes a vow to shut down Defqon.1 and severe penalties for suppliers while refusing to consider implementing pill-testing at festivals.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Premier extended sympathies to the 22-year-old man’s family, and recommitted her government’s opposition to pill-testing. It echoed her comments after a 19-year-old’s overdose at a music festival three weeks ago.
“There is no such thing as a safe illegal drug and I urge everyone who is attending a festival to stay safe and think carefully about the decisions they make around drugs,” she said (via SMH).
In response, drug law reform body Take Control is urging the public to sign an open letter asking the Premier to implement pill-testing at music festivals, citing the success of their own pill-testing trial at this year’s Groovin The Moo in Canberra.
“This doesn’t need to be the summer of festival deaths,” Take Control’s statement reads. “We have doctors and drug treatment experts standing by to make live music and festivals safer for our kids with pill testing.
“Please Premier – this is not the time to blinding follow the ‘just say no’ failed strategy. Please at least listen to the evidence and come to the table so that we can make music festivals safer.”
In response to the death, NSW Opposition leader Michael Daley has signposted that his party may shift their policy on pill-testing, saying that “pill testing should not be off the table”. If they supported pill-testing, they would join the NSW Greens — and a majority of Australians.
Falls Festival’s Statement Regarding Dangerous Pill
IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGE #fallsfestival pic.twitter.com/zgR9GI2KGN
— Falls Festival (@fallsofficial) December 30, 2018