Police Claim Electronic Music 'Intrinsically Linked' To Drug Use

New South Wales police have explicitly linked electronic music to illicit drug use following the death of a 19-year-old attendee at Sydney's Harbourlife festival at the weekend.

"I’m concerned that these electronic music events are consistently intimately associated with illicit psychoactive drug use,” police superintendent Mark Walton said in a statement.

"It does not matter what location they are held in, there is no doubt the nature of the entertainment is intrinsically linked to that drug use.

"Quite simply, you do not know what you're taking."

Superintendent Walton's comments come after the death of North Shore woman Georgina Bartter on Saturday, who was found having a seizure at the festival after ingesting "one and a half" pills, and later passed away at St Vincent's Hospital, of a suspected overdose or "adverse reaction".

A total of 78 people were charged with drug-related offences at Harbourlife. Though the festival has not directly addressed those arrests, organisers have reacted to Ms Bartter's passing, releasing a statement about the incident on Facebook. In addition to reassuring patrons of its first-aid procedures, the festival also paid condolences to Ms Bartter's family and reiterated the message from police.

"Right now our thoughts are with her family," organisers wrote. "We can hardly imagine the pain and heartbreak they must be feeling, and they have our deepest sympathy."

"Police have issued a warning reminding people of the dangers of illegal drugs: 'There's little to no quality control in the production of illicit drugs ... seeking a synthetic high, could result in a serious injury or death',” the post concluded.