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ORGANISERS OF ELECTRIC Picnic have warned festival-goers that they will face “vigorous” drug searches when attending the annual event this weekend.
Speaking to reporters in Stradbally, Laois today, Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn warned that “searching will be vigorous”.
“We will do targeted searching where we think it’s appropriate but ultimately it’s about people making their own choices,” he added.
With 57,500 people set to attend the festival this weekend, this is the largest Electric Picnic ever. The line-up this year includes The Strokes, Florence and the Machine, Hozier and rising star Billie Eilish.
“Illegal drugs are illegal for specific reasons and that’s principally because they’re dangerous. What’s in the drugs, people don’t know and we urge people not to take drugs,” Benn said.
Talks are currently underway between the HSE and organisations that could provide drug-testing at festivals as calls grow for harm-reduction measures at music events.
Meanwhile, Benn said that the festival could expand further next year.
“It feels to me like there is demand and it feels to me like potentially we could try and meet that demand if there’s space,” he said.
This year attendees are being asked to take part in a cup deposit scheme and use reusable bottles at the festival.
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I doubt rigorous searches will involve putting hands in bras and underwear.. Likewise with boxer briefs. Just implement testing facilties backward Ireland
@Chonky Racoon: Bring in Henry the sniffer dog to sort that out
@WoodlandBard: won’t happen though. And that’s just wasted resources.. Sniffer dogs are better at getting rid of filth like black tar heroin and crack meth etc
@Chonky Racoon: yes that will work.
Step into a testing tent “Hey dude can you test my yokes? Don’t want any duds y’know”
“Yes of course!.. well they passed and are perfect, enjoy your night”
“Why thank you, I shall only take a half to be safe dude”
“Hahah sure you will mate”
and then skip off into a halcyon sunset to rave in the forest until 8am.
Say that every year, never happens.
The EP is a shadow of its former self anyway, full of kids and millenials just to get mad out of it and upload videos to Snapchat
Yep push it further underground, Increase stigma, make people afraid to get help when things are going wrong. The opposite to policies that are needed to save lives.
That should work. What are they trying to achieve here?
electric picnic is going to be full of people taking drugs just like every other year. They could put a barbed wire fence around it, strip search everyone going in and they will still find a way to take them. Drugs are a health issue, a symptom of a sick society which cannot be solved with a law and order approach. End this madness.
@john doe: I dont agree with you entirely. Drugs are not just a health issue, people with addiction issues is a health issue. The right to consume drugs recreationally is a civil liberties issue, why does the government get to decide what mind alternating substances people take, when mdma cocaine and ketamine are less dangerous or harmful to the user than alcohol, but have far fewer negative outcomes for society than alcohol
@Conor Heneghan: Totally agree man, most illegal recreational drugs are nowhere near as bad for you as alcohol or cigarettes. I bet not a single legislator in Ireland could explain why these drugs were made illegal in the first place. Which is mainly because of where they came from. Marijuanna was first made illegal because of the financial threat the hemp industry posed to the lumber industry, which at the time was almost as powerful as the oil industry.
@Matthew Handibode: race persecution was also a major driver of making cocaine and cannabis illegal
Rigorous search my bollox I’ve gone to plenty of raves over the years and searches consist of a firm pat down and checking bags and shoes. I mean what else can they do? Strip you?
@Luap: Mates of mine were strip searched years ago on the way in to EP…luckily all the goodies were already in with someone else ;)
Bring the top Garda Dog Lazer to the festival
He will sniff out any drugs and have a cracking weekend too..
Vigorous meaning, tap on the shoulder.. In ye go lad.
wonder how many will OD this year ?
Yawn
Various cartels can smuggle 1000s of tonnes of drugs around the world every year. Enough said.
@Druglitter: Its not really enough said though.
Ok let’s go to Plan B
Really sad this has to be done in the first place…if some young person dies at the event because of llegal drugs nobody will remember the fun they had and everyone will be left heart-broken
Saw some of the searches last year as I was waiting on someone to meet me. If they found a small amount they’d just take it off you and send you on your way, or so you think, I noticed every time they did this they’d be on the walkie talkie giving a description of said person, and their friends and direction they are going, then plain clothes would appear and seem to keep an eye.
If jivers want to test a drug they are about to take with mates….. Is EL catering for that?
If you’re stupid enough to take them in this day an age with all the advice out there u get what you deserve. It’s the rest of there family I feel sorry for
Can they just drone the stuff in!!!
And yet the most dangerous and harmful drug of them all is on sale all over the place at EP, Legalise a d tax em all and let people make their own minds up.
Pissing against the wild! rather than having drug testing on site poor planning deaths on your hands! wake up the war on drugs has been lost you gave the criminal gangs all the money
@john doe: easier said than done ‘end this madness’ if THEIR priority (I’m referring to the article now not your comment) was the danger within those drugs why wouldn’t they offer free test kits to check the drugs to ensure the drugs were safe and weren’t those dodgy yokes that have caused kids to od at these events? Morally and logically wise that’s what I think surely is the correct thing to do as well search for these drugs on entry but they’ll get in.
Zero tolerance, I believe that there’s a test similar to the breathalyzer one and if someone is caught simply send them out/home. People that are there to enjoy and party should be doing to that, leave the drugs outside for later and not risk getting kicked out. If there stupid enough to try then take there punishment !!!
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