MDMA circulation sparks Electric Picnic warning

Electric Picnic festival takes place this weekend

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has urged Electric Picnic festival goers to engage with its drug harm reduction teams, as it remains on alert for high-strength drugs in circulation at this year's festival.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the annual Electric Picnic festival in County Laois at the weekend.

Agencies said they suspect a high potency MDMA and the consumption of MDMA powders in drinks could be in circulation across the island of Ireland.

They said they are concerned about high-potency MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, as well as the hallucinogenic drug LSD.

'Back-of-house' drug checking

The health service's Safer Nightlife Harm Reduction programme is set to be onsite at Electric Picnic for the fourth time this year.

The HSE - which manages all of the public health services in the Republic of Ireland - said its teams would offer free and confidential back-of-house drug checking for analysis.

Festival goers can surrender drugs at two tents located in the Electric Arena and the Hendrix Campsite. Its teams will be visible in purple and pink high-vis vests.

"People come to us with samples for a range of reasons," said the HSE's emerging drug trends project manager Nicki Killeen.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the annual festival, pictured here in 2024

Ms Killeen said without this project there would be no Irish data on MDMA purity, which has been increasing year on year.

She said: "Over the last four years of this project, we have issued alerts on high-strength MDMA linked to medical emergencies, 3-CMC being sold as cocaine without people knowing, and cases of 100% pure cocaine - which is very rare but can lead to extreme medical situations or fatalities."

"As well as this, through our emerging trends work in community settings, we have also issued alerts on synthetic opioids sold as heroin and benzodiazepines," she added.

Ireland's Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O'Connor said: "The drug market is constantly evolving, and new and more dangerous substances are constantly emerging."

"The HSE's back of house drug testing initiative is very beneficial in identifying drugs that are in circulation and responding to the dangers they present."

'They are not measuring the dose'

Professor Campbell, from Queen's University, says users are adding a substance "into water or their alcohol"

Professor Anne Campbell, from the Drug and Alcohol Research Network at Queen's University Belfast, said the "old school MDMA" was a tablet, but it's now being used as a powder.

Speaking on Radio Ulster's Talkback programme, Professor Campbell said the drug can have "different hues" of colour.

"We were aware that an orange, reddy, brown substance of powder was being used by young people and they were putting that substance into water or their alcohol."

She said users are taking "large amounts" of a powder and "they do not know what is within the powder and they are not measuring the dose".

"They do not have the information in relation to harm reduction" and said it's important to offer young people advice and warnings on the dangers.

Who is playing at Electric Picnic?

Chappell Roan, pictured at the Grammy Awards in February, is a headline act at this year's festival

Among the headliners playing this year's festival are:

• Chappell Roan

• Hozier

• Sam Fender

• Fatboy Slim

• Becky Hill

• Kings of Leon