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Affiliation
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Rutgers University, School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, United States. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Drug use is prevalent among electronic dance music (EDM) party attendees, but research is needed to determine the extent of adverse drug-related outcomes in this population in order to better inform prevention and harm reduction efforts.
METHOD: 1029 adults were surveyed entering EDM parties in New York City in 2018. Those reporting past-year use of a drug were asked if they experienced a harmful or very unpleasant effect after use in which they were concerned about their immediate safety. They were also asked about co-use of other drugs and whether they sought help.
RESULTS: We estimate that a third (33.5%) of EDM party attendees have experienced a drug-related adverse effect in the past year. Two-thirds (67.8%) of adverse effects involved use of alcohol. Relative to use, adverse effects most commonly resulted from use of opioids (e.g., prescription opioid misuse, 41.2%) or alcohol (33.9%). Among those reporting an adverse effect, concomitant use of other drugs was common, particularly among users of LSD (56.5%), ketamine (56.3%), cocaine (55.7%), and ecstasy/MDMA/Molly (47.7%). Adverse effects resulting from synthetic cathinone ("bath salt") use were most likely to result in a hospital visit (57.1%).
CONCLUSION: Adverse effects from drug use are common among those in the EDM party scene and polydrug use appears to be a common risk factor. More research is needed, however, to determine the extent of event-specific adverse outcomes.
RESULTS can inform prevention and harm reduction efforts in this population.
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Language: en |