HOME
|
Festivals Performers Articles Forums Members
|

Shambhala Music Festival Invests In Advanced Drug-testing Technology To Keep Attendees Safe

Re: Shambhala Music Festival Invests In Advanced Drug-Testing Technology To Keep Attendees Safe

Shambhala Music Festival Invests In Advanced Drug-Testing Technology To Keep Attendees Safe


Photo by Adam Straughn
Photo by Adam Straughn


Shambhala Music Festival
Shambhala Music Festival

It is a controversial topic, drug testing. But many believe that if people are going to engage in recreational drug use then they best do it safe.It is no secret that the rise of opioids found in street drugs has become an epidemic. In a pilot study released by the BCCSU found that 90% of opioids and 6% of stimulants tested positive for fentanyl. This is a dangerous time and with the consistent work from Shambhala harm reduction and the not-for-profit organization ANKORS, who have been working with music festivals to decrease cases of unsafe drug use, they have helped pave the way for a safer party environment.

"In partnership with the ANKORS team, Shambhala Music Festival is excited to announce that they have donated the final $10,000 needed for the purchase of a FTIR Spectrometer; an advanced drug checking technology which can detect many ingredients in one substance. The donation completed the GoFundMe campaign that ANKORS has been hosting for the past two years.

Shambhala Music Festival in British Columbia, Canada has long been championed for their work in harm reduction and continue to pave the way for other live events to follow their lead. One of the teams that has been essential to this mission is ANKORS, who are a not-for-profit organization that provide harm reduction services at music festivals through on-site drug testing and will be returning to Shambhala for the 16th year as the festival prepares for their 2018 edition from August 10th-13th .

Their donation was in addition to the $32K that was raised by Shambhala guests through a ticket purchase donation option and other independent donations through GoFundMe. With better technology, ANKORS is able to give people who choose to use drugs more accurate information on the substances they might put in their bodies. This in turn reduces drug harm with attendees making more informative decisions. With this move, Shambhala and ANKORS continue to invest in the safety of guests .

"Shambhala has supported ANKORS in this fundraising effort to obtain an FTIR Spectrometer for our community and to use at Shambhala every step of the way says ANKORS drug checking coordinator Chloe Sage . After two years we will finally see this instrument in action. Im very excited to add the FTIR to our harm reduction service this year at Shambhala.

Additional partners of ANKORS include Interior Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Silvina Mema, ASK Wellness of Kamloops, and the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use ( BCCSU ), who have been leading the evaluation of drug checking as a harm reduction service.

This included research that ANKORS collaborated on with Interior Health and Dr. Silvina Mema, ASK Wellness in partnership with Interior Health sending their FTIR and a technician to be part of the team at Shambhala, an additional FTIR Spectrometer that was loaned by BCCSU to ANKORS and having one of their technicians sent out to the festival, and Dr. Ian Garbers BCCSU technician training science and tech volunteers on the weekends ahead of the festival to ensure they are prepared.

As Shambhala Music Festival prepares to host their 21st anniversary edition next week, attendees will once again have the option to bring substances to the ANKORS booth and have them tested free of charge and without judgement. This will include the use of their new FTIR Spectrometer, allowing ANKORS to provide even more advanced drug testing than in the past."

Stay safe have a beautiful Shambhala

Ellisha
Ellisha
Shambhala Music Festival Invests In Advanced Drug-Testing Technology To Keep Attendees Safe

By
Published:

Festival News


  • Need Some Hip Hop in Your Life This Calgary Stampede Then Don't Miss These Shows
  • Tmrw.Tday Culture Fest Finds The Perfect Balance Between The Party & Wellness
  • Tmrw.Tday Festival Is Full Of Music Yoga Healing And Workshops
  • The Love Is Real Aboard Groove Cruise
  • Vujaday Music Festival In Barbados Announces 2019 Lineup
  • The Third Annual Tmrw.Tday Culture Fest Releases Lineup
  • AEMCON Alberta Electronic Music Conference Met High Expectations
  • AEMCON: Sharing More Than Just Beats
  • Alberta Electronic Music Conference and Festival November 15th-18th
  • Groove Cruise Cabo Recap Well Almost Cabo But It Was Still Amazing
  • Listen To These Groove Cruise Radio Mixes and Lets Get This Party Started
  • Groove Cruise Cabo Starts The Party Right With Their Cosmic Pre-Party
  • Start Planning your Shambhala 2019 Dates and Tickets Released With 2018 After Movie
  • Groove Cruise Cabo + Meta Pop and Laidback Luke Team Up For Remix Competition
  • Shambhala Music Festival Invests In Advanced Drug-Testing Technology To Keep Attendees Safe
  • Shambhala is Days Away Here is Something to Get You Extra Excited
  • Groove Cruise Cabo Announces Phase 2 Lineup
  • Calgary Stampede's Music Lineup
  • Check Out 2018 Playlists By Shambhala
  • Astral Harvest Is More Than Just A Music Festival
  • Groove Cruise Cabo Just Released Phase one of Lineup
  • EDC Las Vegas Photos
  • Buku Music & Art Project Sets 2019 Festival Dates
  • Review of 420 Music Festival and it was Lit
  • J.Cole Launches Single Day Music Festival
  • Shambhala Releases Lineup For All Six Stages
  • Calgary’s 420 Music Festival is just around the corner
  • Shambhala drops 21st annual lineup. Are you ready for it ?
  • Cardi B just Cancelled her show at Snowboming Canada
  • Shambhala Announces REZZ & Glitch Mob as the first headliners for 2018!
  • Share This Page


     
    Share on Facebook
     
    Tweet on Twitter
     
    Pin on Pinterest

    Quick Search


     
    Uploading.....
    Please wait......