Electric Zoo organizers said their three-day event has always had a zero-tolerance drug policy, but this year’s screening will be especially robust and will include drug searches and amnesty bins so drugs can be discarded anonymously.
“We are redoubling our efforts at the gate,” said Dr. Andrew Bazos, medical supervisor for show organizer SFX Entertainment.
Last year, the final day of Electric Zoo was canceled when two concertgoers died after taking the drug Molly, a mashup of MDMA, the component in the drug Ecstasy, and unregulated synthetic stimulants. Molly deaths were also recorded in Washington, D.C., and Boston.
Experts say Molly use has ticked up in recent years as celebrities such as Madonna and Kanye West referenced the drug at their own concerts and Miley Cyrus sang about “dancing with Molly.”
The Electric Zoo tragedy was a wake-up call to many in the rave and electronic community about the dangers of Molly and other club drugs, Bazos said.
“How to be healthy has unfortunately been related to what happened at Zoo last year,” he said.