Vice, the Canadian punk magazine that’s evolved into a global media giant, sent one of their reporters over to the Isle of Wight last weekend.
Michael Segalov crossed the Solent to carry out an experiment at Bestival. The purpose?
“I wanted to find out exactly what young people are ramming into their bodies at high speed during British music festivals, and if they care that it might all be full of nasty cutting agents used to de-worm farm animals.”
He’d brought with him drug testing kits and once on site, set about convincing strangers to let him test their drugs.
Varied findings
Michael made some horrifying discoveries, the most worrying an ecstasy pill that contained traces of PMA – “a chemical that may be responsible for more than 100 deaths in the UK, including those of three men earlier this year”. Needless to say, the woman ditched the pill immediately.
The funniest discovery was the story of a guy who’d paid £60 for three indigestion tablets.
A serious message
Aside from some of the comical stories, Michael was keen to highlight a serious message.
He finished by saying,
“I learnt a few things at Bestival this year. British festivals need to reconsider their approach to drug testing and follow the lead of some American festivals, which have already allowed these kind of tests to take place.
“Companies like EZTest also need to know that they won’t be prosecuted for distributing their kits, as – with the right amount of exposure – they may well end up preventing deaths.”
Hampshire police say drug seizures at Bestival were up 64% this year with £37,000 of assorted drugs deposited in the amnesty bins.
Read: I Walked Around Bestival Asking to Test People’s Drugs
Image: © EZ Test
