Somerset mum wants more 'drugs amnesty spaces' to ensure better education and testing at festivals
Wendy Teasdill's daughter Ellie Rowe was 18 years old when she died after taking ketamine and alcohol at Boomtown Festival
A Somerset mum is calling for better education around drug-taking and its dangers at festivals.
It's over concerns there could be fewer festival-supported tests this year, despite research suggesting it makes festivals safer, after rules were clarified by the Home Office about which organisations could be licensed to carry out the tests. Critics worry the change could impact smaller festivals' ability to offer testing, which they do despite not condoning the use of drugs.
Wendy Teasdill, who lives in Glastonbury, saw her life turned upside down when her 18-year-old daughter Ellie Rowe died a decade ago at Boomtown festival after taking ketamine.
Shortly after her death, the drug was reclassified as Class B and Wendy now wants more people to access information on drug safety - especially at festivals.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Wendy said: "Had Ellie had proper access to information around drugs and drug testing, I really believe she would still be with us today.
"When Ellie died, my initial reaction was, 'oh my god - how could she take drugs?', but I then learned how apparently 'normal' it is. Since that time, my mind has been very much changed, and everything really has to be put into perspective.
"What I'm calling for - ten years on - is amnesty spaces where people can talk about drugs and letting people have conversations around that - without being criminalised about it."
The National Police Chiefs Council say abstinence of any controlled substance is the best to keep safe at festivals - guidance Wendy told us is good advice, but not particularly realistic for young people going to festivals.
It follows new data, which has seen record numbers of seizures of ketamine in recent years.
According to the Home Office, the ketamine confiscated in the year ending March 2022 rose by 884% - to 1,837kg - compared to the same period the year before.
She added: "I remember when I was young - and when I was studying in Leeds, me and my friends could certainly put a drink back! We had this veil of invincibility, like all young people.
"So, at festivals, it's just not practical to share advice about being completely abstinent, although I absolutely agree that staying away from all drugs is certainly the best way to stay safe.
"Young people are designed to take risks - and they do. Helping them learn the parameters about what they can do, and teaching them to learn about themselves and the lives they want to lead would be a much more sensible way of going about it - which is why I'm calling for more education about drugs - and more testing at festivals, too."
'Multi-agency testing is an important safeguarding tool'
This year, festivals including Reading and Leeds, as well as Somerset's Glastonbury have all been carrying out drugs testing - but many have commented about a lack of testing across the UK this year.
The Home Office and the NPCC say the position for a licence - which has been in dispute - hasn't changed, and a licence has always been needed to test people for drugs and other substances.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Drugs, Chief Constable Dr Richard Lewis said: “The NPCC are sighted on a variety of concerns highlighting the potential for a lack of drug testing at festival events. NPCC are committed to supporting a legislatively compliant process and would like to reinforce that those handling controlled drugs must do so in accordance with the longstanding legal requirement to have a Home Office licence in place.
“Abstinence from taking any controlled drug would be advisable for personal safety, wellbeing and remaining within the law. The NPCC will continue to work with event organisers engaging in multi-agency safety testing, acknowledging that this is an important safeguarding tool.
“Some festivals have made arrangements with testing labs which already have HO licences. Whilst not on site they will be able to agree with the local force a lawful means to get samples to the laboratory.
“The requirement for a Home Office licence has been legislatively embedded for many years and has not hampered effective partnership working that puts public safety as a top priority.”
The Loop carried out front-of-house testing at festivals during a pilot in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and says it had ‘very positive’ results.
Since the pilot ended, events have used back-of-house testing - where drugs which have been confiscated or surrendered are tested behind the scenes.
The Loop’s founder Fiona Measham says it then means alerts can be sent out to festival goers if a concerning substance is found to be in circulation:
“The benefit of drug testing is that you can find out information about what’s inside, at that festival, on that day, and get that information out. If there is a medical incident, that’s again another opportunity for the festival organisers to be getting out those messages as quickly as possible.
“Young people do respond to those messages. When we’ve provided our testing service at festivals, we’ve found that around half of people who get that message then take a lower dose in future. So one small piece of information can have a massive positive effect.”
'This year's Boomtown went very well'
A decade on from Ellie's death, police have revealed how the close enforcement work by police, event management, and medical staff has led to a Boomtown festival that saw only a relatively small number of crime-related incidents.
From the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, Superintendent Mark Lewis said: “This year’s Boomtown went very well and highlighted the effective partnership working between event management, security companies, stewards, medical staff and the police.
“We have worked very closely with event organisers and partners to ensure staff were fully trained to assist anyone who needed help and to ensure the festival was safe. We worked to ensure festival goers were aware of who they could speak to if they had any concerns.
“It is important to note that the crime levels remain low when taking into consideration the numbers of people who attended.
“A number of incidents were reported during the festival, and police action is being taken."
Charity The Loop have launched their 'crush, dab and wait' campaign - and you can find out more about their safety message for people attending festivals on their website.
There is also non-judgemental and practical advice on the Drug Science website.
Read more: Charity welcomes call for more guidance on drug-testing at festivals
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