Reveller Overdoses On First Day Of Pill Testing Trial At Beyond The Valley Festival

A young punter was hospitalised after a suspected drug overdose at Victoria’s Beyond The Valley Festival on the first day of the state’s pill testing trial.

Paramedics were called to the festival grounds in Hesse on Saturday afternoon to attend to a man in his 20s, who was said to be in a serious but stable condition by an Ambulance Victoria spokesperson. After being discharged on Sunday, a spokesperson for Geelong University Hospital confirmed the festival-goer had suffered from a long overdose.

Around 35,000 people are expected to attend the festival this year, which spans over the New Year. In a state first, the government agreed to roll out an 18-month mobile drug-checking service, with the first service being held at Beyond The Valley. The service offers pill testing technology to test the contents of most drugs brought in from revellers, ensuring that they are free from any life-threatening substances. The service is available throughout the entire four-day festival and is delivered by youth support and advocacy service The Loop Australia, and Harm Reduction Victoria.

Organisers of the testing facility could not determine whether the reveller had used the service prior due to its anonymous process. 

CEO of The Loop Australia Cam Francis told The Age that while he wasn’t fully aware of the circumstances regarding the overdose, MDMA was often the common drug behind medical incidents at festivals due to its high purity.

“At a festival of this scale, those types of hospital transports are not uncommon,” he said.

“We know that MDMA purity is high all around the world right now, so we know that that’s a risk factor for all music festivals and that’s what we’re here to try and address.”

The long debate over the help and rollout of pill testing has spanned years and has become more and more notable after a 23-year old died from a suspected overdose at March’s Pitch Music & Arts Festival and eight people were in critical condition after a suspected overdose at Hardmission Festival in January.

As of Sunday afternoon, The Loop Australia reported that no high-risk substances had been discovered in roughly 300 samples tested.