High times and overdoses in Toronto’s dance festival scene
UNFORGETTABLE SAGAS, SCOOPS AND SCANDALS
from Toronto Life’slong-form archives |
|
|
|
Dear reader, A couple of weeks ago, I attended a small music festival up north. It was a relaxed weekend—mostly daytime shows and young families. The rowdiest people in the crowd were probably the toddlers who were skipping their naps. My days of weaving through masses of belligerent partiers at giant music fests are behind me, but I remember them well—the throbbing bass, the sweltering heat, the throngs of drunk and stoned teens and 20-somethings. One thing I don’t remember seeing is drug-testing. But, on my recent outing, beside the merch and beer tents, I spotted a harm-reduction booth where volunteers were testing samples of people’s drugs, without judgment and free of charge. Festival culture has changed a lot in the wake of the opioid epidemic—and for the better. In 2015, Toronto Life writer Lauren McKeon told a very different story, reporting on the city’s booming electronic dance music scene and the shocking number of overdoses at festivals. For most EDM fans, McKeon wrote, the euphoric high of party drugs eclipsed the danger. For more great long-reads from Toronto Life, subscribe to our print edition here. |
|
|
| —Madi Haslam, digital editor |
|
|
The electronic dance music genre has spawned a $20-billion economy of giant festivals, thumping bass and designer drugs. The partygoers think they’re invincible. The overdoses tell another story |
BY LAUREN MCKEON | JULY 7, 2015 |
Every summer, hordes of young people flock to electronic dance music festivals. Toronto has become a global centre for EDM, a place where the good times never stop. And for many festival-goers, party drugs—especially MDMA—are a requisite part of the experience. As Lauren McKeon wrote in 2015, “The electronic dance music scene is all about being reckless and getting wrecked. Drug users never know if what they’re told they are buying is actually what they’re ingesting—and, after a few hits of this or that, they don’t seem to care.” For some EDM fans, that culture is costing them their lives. |
|
|
| In the latest issue: dispatches from the canine wars. Plus, inside the making of LSL, the $680-a-head uptown restaurant everyone’s talking about; a night owl’s guide to dining out after last call; a Q&A with the city’s new WNBA boss; and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today. |
|
|
Follow us for the latest from Toronto Life |
Copyright ©2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. Toronto Life is a registered trademark of SJC Media
15 Benton Rd.
Toronto, M6M 3G2
You're receiving this email because you signed up for a Toronto Life newsletter. Unsubscribe |
|
|
|
