Over the weekend, electronic and alternative music festival HARD Summer Fest took place at LA State's Historic Park in Pomona, Calif. Following the deaths of two women—ages 18 and 19—at the festival. Los Angeles County supervisors are considering a ban on music festivals in the area altogether. While authorities suspect that the two teens passed away from drug overdoses, an official investigation is underway to determine the exact cause. Additionally 29 other festival attendees were reportedly treated for drug or alcohol-related problems along with two people who were hospitalized in critical condition after falling and hitting their heads.
Unfortunately, festivals are no stranger to the occurrence of alcohol and drug related tragedies. MDMA was a confirmed contribution to two deaths two years ago at Electric Zoo Festival and thought to be a factor in the death at last year's FreakNight Festival in Seattle. There was also a death at last year's ULTRA festival and a death and hundreds of arrests at last year's HARD Summer Fest. The tragedies bring up a much-discussed debate about the link between drug and alcohol abuse and music festivals as opposed to the abuse that occurs outside of music festivals, as well.
