More than 40 drug samples handed in for testing at Electric Picnic through ‘amnesty bins’, says HSE report

More than 40 samples of drugs were anonymously surrendered for testing by people attending the Electric Picnic music festival in September, according to a Health Service Executive (HSE) report on the pilot scheme.

Two separate “amnesty bins” were set up at the music festival in Stradbally, Co Laois, where people could surrender drugs, which were then tested by health officials to try to detect dangerous batches in circulation.

A report by the HSE, published on Tuesday, said 46 samples were surrendered for testing by those attending the festival. This included 11 ecstasy pills, eight samples of MDMA powder, six samples of cocaine and five samples of ketamine.

Twelve substances left at amnesty bins for testing contained “new psychoactive substances”, three of which the report said had not been found before in Ireland.

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Under the pilot scheme, if health officials testing samples had concerns about a particular batch or type of drug, an alert was sent out on social media, as well as shown on screens at stages at the festival.

The HSE report said three different alerts were sent out over the course of the weekend festival.

In one case this was after testing showed purple ecstasy pills in the shape of a skull were twice as strong as an ordinary dose, with another alert sent over high-strength MDMA powder.

In the third case, an alert was sent out warning over a new substance, 3-CMC, which is a cathinone drug the HSE warned could cause “significant mental health problems”.

The report said the strength of ecstasy pills tested varied significantly, in some cases samples were found to contain 36mg of MDMA, while the “purple skull” brand pills were found to contain up to 235mg of MDMA.

The findings from the pilot showed Ireland was seeing “dangerously potent MDMA pills, powders and crystals appearing on the market,” the report said.

It concluded an “expansion of analytical services is required” to get a better insight into drug use, to inform harm reduction efforts.

Professor Eamon Keenan, HSE national lead for addiction services, said as a result of the testing scheme, the HSE was able to quickly share information with the public to “encourage harm reduction” among those taking drugs.

“We obtained quantitative estimates of MDMA being used in Ireland which we have never had access to before, while we engaged with hidden and niche user groups whom we otherwise would not have contact with through traditional addiction services,” he said.