Dropping like flies at music festivals and concerts.

Live music being dangerous is nothing new. It was dangerous even for the Baby Boomers, with the Rolling Stones' Altamont Free Concert in 1969 where six people died (one from murder) thanks to the Hells Angels, and drugs and spiked drinks galore at Woodstock. Then in 2000, Pearl Jam played at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark where nine people were fatally crushed in the mosh pit, and 16-year-old Jessica Michalik died that way during Limp Bizkit's set at the 2001 Sydney Big Day Out.

But over this summer in Australia, there has been a spate of fatal overdoses at festivals and concerts among teens and young adults which have sparked a national debate about whether or not to enforce pill-testing at such events. I'm not personally convinced that will work overall but regardless, surely the whole point of concerts and music festivals is not to get drunk or high, but the fucking music! 

Now, I am a social drinker (although I have and will never touch illegal drugs in my life; I'm crazy enough already), but I refuse to believe even casual fans of any art form need psychotropic substances in order to fully enjoy themselves at such events. I guess peer pressure and hormones, for many of us, just prove too influential.

But back to the question of pill-testing. I don't believe that would work because drug dealers and cheeky kids will still find ways to smuggle drugs into shows by stuffing them into covered areas (and that, of course, were pill-testing implemented, could lead to unwanted sexual contact) or taking them before arriving and hoping nobody can tell. Considering youth drinking and drug use overall, I think every country could learn from the Netherlands. Their legal drinking age is just 15 and yet, they actually have one of the lowest youth drinking rates on Earth because once Dutch teens reach 16 or 17, for many of them the novelty has already worn off.

Anyway, in conclusion, all kinds of drugs can have their benefits, but none of them are absolutely necessary for a great time, and they shouldn't be the focal point of a concert or music festival. See you all at the show.