Argumentative Essay - Drug Testing at Music Festivals PDF

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Argumentative Essay - Drug Testing at Music Festivals...

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Ruby McSweeney

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Drug Testing at Music Festivals How does drug testing at music festivals help to prevent fatal drug use?

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Ruby McSweeney

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A recent increase in drug-related deaths has resulted in a demand for on-site drug testing to be used as a preventative method for fatal drug use (Scott & Scott, 2019). According to Hollett and Gately (2019), drug testing services have the potential to reduce the number of adverse outcomes through facilitating behavioural changes that influence harm reduction. Harm reduction is defined as “policies, programs, and practices that aim to reduce the harms associated with the use of psychoactive drugs in people unable or unwilling to top” (Southey et al., 2020, p. 2). This is a topic of interest because drug testing is considered to be a potential solution to prevent drug-induced injuries, mental health issues, and fatalities. This essay argues that several factors are significant predictors that can impact the effectiveness of drug testing at music festivals. These predictors include; providing information on the composition of a drug, sensation-seeking behaviours, and false reassurance of drug samples.

The first predictor of effective drug testing at music festivals is allowing individuals to be more informed on their drug samples. According to Hollett and Gately (2019), drug testing services give festival attendees a clear understanding of the composition of substances in their drugs. For this reason, there has been proven to be strong support for on-site drug testing. A 2016 Australian study concluded that 86.5% of people believed that drug testing at music festivals can reduce drug-induced harm by informing individuals of an adulterated result (Southey et al., 2020). This will potentially increase risk reduction behaviour, such as discarding of drugs. 43.7% of festival attendees in a 2019 study reported that they did not trust their supplier (Hollett & Gately, 2019). By providing individuals with the option to be more informed on the composition of their drug, they can make educated choices regarding their drug use. Research shows that facilitators play an important role when informing festival attendees on their drug composition results. Facilitators include referral to support services and drug education, which should always be offered to individuals who receive results that indicate an adulterated sample (Hollett & Gately, 2019). This is due to sensation-seeking behaviour,

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which is a significant predictor for the effectiveness of drug testing. This behaviour is commonly seen within individuals who have a history of drug use.

Furthermore, sensation-seeking behaviour tends to impact the intentions of an individual who is met with an adulterated drug test result. Hollett and Gately (2019) argue that drug testing only gives the individual an option to be more informed when making decisions regarding substance use, but the likelihood of a harmful outcome is determined by a person’s general propensity for risk-taking. An example of this statement can be seen in an Australian study, in which amongst 155 samples that were found to not match the description that the participant was sold, only 8 pills were discarded (Scott & Scott, 2019). People who have a history of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use are less likely to want to reduce the risk involved with taking an adulterated drug compared to those who have never used MDMA (Hollett & Gately, 2019). Sensation seeking impacts the effectiveness of on-site drug testing, as individuals pursue to feel complex sensations and reach a high. While doing so, there is a complete disregard for the risks involved with consuming drugs. 70.3% of participants in a 2019 Australian study stated that they would still consume their drugs if it contained MDMA-type substances (Southey et al., 2020). Sensation seeking behaviours can be significantly influenced by reassurance given from drug test results.

Moreover, drug test results may falsely reassure festival attendees of the innocuousness of their drug samples. This can be seen in individuals who experience a delay in the onset of desired effects, who are then encouraged to consume more drugs or drink alcohol. This is then seen to rapidly increase drug-associated harm and lead to more, potentially dangerous, use (Scott & Scott, 2020). Drug test results can only conclude if the drug is the expected substance, not the effects that it may have on the body. It also does not conclude the effects that may be caused if taken as a double dosage or mixed with a different substance. The potential mental, physical, and emotional side effects that are

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regularly seen in drug use are not eliminated when consuming a drug that has produced an unadulterated result. There have been no studies that have definitively tested whether drug testing at music festivals decreases verified harms that are associated with taking MDMA or any type of party drug (Scott & Scott, 2020). Since drug testing entails using a small sample from the surface of the pill or powder, there is no guarantee that the sample is a complete representation of the entire substance. For this reason, drug test sample results will never be certain, as there is no quality control in manufactured illicit substances (Scott & Scott, 2020). Therefore, informing an individual that their sample is deemed safe for consumption may encourage harmful drug use.

In conclusion, this essay has argued that predictive factors significantly impact the effectiveness of drug testing at music festivals. Three main predictors have been identified within this essay that are believed to impact the success of drug testing; drug education, sensation-seeking behaviours, and false reassurance of drug use. All of which must be considered in order to use on-site drug testing as a method to help prevent drug-induced fatalities. Drug education has the potential to increase risk reduction behaviour, and prevent harmful drug-use choices. However, the likelihood of an individual discarding an adulterated drug relies heavily on sensation-seeking behaviour. This behaviour is also influenced by the false reassurance of a drug sample, which is a result of an unadulterated drug test result. Providing information on the composition of a drug is simply not effective enough to prevent drug fatalities at music festivals. Drug testing must be combined with harm reduction advice for harm minimisation to occur. On-site drug education and referral to support services, such as rehabilitation clinics, are of vital importance for drug testing to succeed and be implemented efficiently. (1013)

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References Hollett, R.C., & Gately, N. (2019). Risk intentions following pill test scenarios are predicted by MDMA use history and sensation seeking; A quantitative field study at an Australian music festival. Drug and Alcohol Review, 38(5), 473-481. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12936 Scott, I.A., & Scott, R.J. (2020). Pill testing at music festivals: is it evidence based harm reduction?. Internal Medicine Journal, 50(4), 395-402. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.14742 Southey, M., Kathirgamalingam, A., Crawford, B., Kaul, R., McNamara, J., John-Leader, F., Heslop, J., & Winona Pit, S. (2020). Patterns of ecstasy use amongst live music event attendees and their opinions on pill testing: a cross sectional study. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 15(55), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-020-00295-1

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