B.C. festival-goers’ drugs contain only expected substance 2 out of 3 times: study

published on October 18, 2019 by Megan Devlin in CTV News Vancouver

VANCOUVER – A troublingly high number of drugs tested at B.C. music festivals last summer weren’t what potential users thought they were, although few were contaminated with fentanyl, according to a new study.

Research scientist Lianping Ti and colleagues attended several festivals around the province in summer 2018, including Electric Love, BassCoast, Rifflandia and Vancouver Pride Festival. They brought their Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and fentanyl testing strips, offering checking services for free to festival-goers.

Two-thirds of stimulant samples contained only the pure substance users expected. About 36 per cent contained other contaminants. Psychedelics sampled were slightly more reliable—nearly three-quarters were what people thought they were. Still, about 12 per cent of psychedelics contained contaminants…