Electronic dance music concerts have always been associated with high drug use since the late 1900s. This is primarily because it has become common to find people overdosing during such performances. According to the New York Times article Drug Deaths Threaten Rising Business of Electronic Music Fests, since this March seven people who were at electronic dance concerts in the United States died because of MDMA overdoses, and just last month, the Electric Zoo Festival at Randalls Island was closed down because there was a case of two attendees dying of MDMA overdoses.

“For some reason we have the stamp of drug misuse and I think that it’s unfair,” a well-known DJ at the Electric Zoo Festival said, “It ruins the party for a lot of other people”. It ruins the party for a lot of other people all right. Electric music fests have become increasingly popular and has become a rising business. Along with the massive amount of people attending such events, there is a growing number of investors and sponsors for electric music dance performances. By closing down Electric Zoo, sponsors like Coors Light, Blue Moon beers, Vita Coco, Hi-Chew are also highly affected. This Electric Zoo Festival incident did not just impact those involved in it. The incident at the Randalls Island concert came just a few weeks before SFX Entertainment’s electronic music concert, so SFX also experienced some difficulties in continuing what they organized. The entertainment group had already set up medical reinforcements, high security, and even planned to organize an educational session to discuss the harmful effects of drug-taking. Other electric concert organizers have taken these measures for the past years, but drug casualties have occurred nevertheless. Now electric music festivals are at risk of closing down because of the occasional drug issues, and these organizations find it unfair that their concerts are being classified as events that allow drug use. “Most major festival promoters have zero-tolerance drug policies, and their sites have security checks, free water stations, first-aid tents and ambulances on call”. After going through these security regulations, drugs were still able to infiltrate into the concerts, “No promoter can prevent all drugs from entering a festival site, nor can do they do anything about drugs consumed before an attendee walks through the gate. Yet many in the dance world think promoters and stars need to do more to discourage it”. Many critics believe that it is the responsibility of the organizers to reinforce discouragement to do drugs.

The stereotype that dance concerts are sanctuaries for drug users is incorrect and is an unfair image projected on electronic music festivals. Organizers of such events have already taken measures to prevent drugs from getting into the festival: they have sponsored educational sessions on the harmful and unnecessary effects of drug use, they have increased their security force, and they have hired medical professionals to be en garde at concerts. What else can they do? These entertainment corporations have done their best and have made their message clear that they do not welcome the presence of drug during their performances. They should not be closed down just because some people went out of their way to smuggle drugs and get high during the show. It was the drug users’ choice to make those actions. The consequences resulting from a few individual’s decision to overdose should not be pushed onto the concept of electric music or industries involved in the performances.

So, do you think electric music dance concerts should be closed down because of these drug deaths?

Works Cited

Sisario, Ben, and James McKinley. “Drug Deaths Threaten Rising Business of Electronic Music Fests.” The New York Times. N.p., 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.