A Breakdown Of The Most Popular Festival Drugs

WJ Cope7 years ago

By show of hands, how many of you crazy kiddos went to ‘Chella this year? I personally would rather subsist entirely on roadkill for a month than find my way to a desert music festival, but I guess I can kind of see the appeal. A lot of big-name artists are playing great sets within close proximity of each other, celebrities can be spotted everywhere, and there’s a nearly unlimited supply of party drugs to go around — if you’re into that sort of thing.

It turns out a lot of people are into that sort of thing, and the folks over at TickPick have created a detailed breakdown of the drugs you’ll come across at a festival. I’ve chosen to take a closer look at a few of the infographics they’ve created.

More than a third of respondents reported smoking pot at a festival, which may come as no surprise to those familiar with the scent of cannabis wafting over the crowd. A smaller but still significant portion reported using harder drugs as well. Thirteen percent of respondents had used MDMA in some form, while hallucinogens such as LSD or mushrooms clocked in at roughly 8 percent apiece. Or at least portions of respondents thought they’d consumed these substances pills sold at these events are notoriously inconsistent in their contents.

I’ve done some of my own research into the percentage of drugs that are cut with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other really dangerous shit, and let me say that it should concern you. I would advise people to get high on life as a risk-free alternative, but even life is cut with scary things like taxes and disease. My point is that nothing in this world is 100% safe, and that’s why you should always be looking out for yourself in every situation — especially when the risk level starts out high like with drug usage.

I will also point out that there’s almost no way only a single-digit percentage of attendees used cocaine, which has seen one hell of a resurgence in the last decade.

VIP attendees were significantly more likely to do a range of drugs than those in general admission. From weed to molly, cocaine, and hallucinogens, VIP pass-holders were substantially more willing to indulge than the average festival-goer.

*Sniff* I just can’t stop talking about cocaine today, but that’s where we see the biggest disparity between general admission and VIP. Perhaps that can be owed to it being perceived as a drug of sophistication and money? I blame Basic Instinct and Scarface. I’d like to see the stats on how many of the VIP cocaine users are wearing coke spoon necklaces while walking around; it’s probably an obnoxiously high number.

Damnnnn, Austin; you need to chill out. With how hot it gets over there, I hope people are sipping water in between pulls of Tito’s.

I was initially baffled by the high rate of marijuana consumption at Burning Man compared to the other festivals, but the research team seems to have an explanation:

One festival did not seem to discriminate: From pot to LSD, Burning Man had some of the highest rates of drug use around. Perhaps this rate of consumption has something to do with the festival’s gift economy,where food, supplies, and even drugs are shared openly without cost.

People have always told me that I need to go to Burning Man at least one time, and I have to say I’m pretty intrigued by the Mad Max-esque shit that goes down there.

Before I go, I want to make it clear that neither TFM nor myself are advocating the use of illegal substances or the irresponsible use of legal ones. If you choose to partake, though, be safe out there.

Interested in diving deeper? You can view all of TickPick’s findings right here..

[via TickPick]