"We Are the Dork Facet That Stop Individuals From Going to the Darkish Facet": How Shambhala Is Pioneering Hurt Discount at Music Festivals
Between 1964 and 1975, an estimated 40,000 People crossed the border illegally into Canada, principally to dodge the specter of being drafted to the navy and the worry of fight within the Vietnam conflict.
Some got here because of the risk of imprisonment as President Nixon declared the “conflict on medication” and addressed drug use as “public enemy #1.” A good portion of those “draft dodgers” got here to discover a new house and Canadian diaspora within the Kootenay area of British Columbia and the central hub within the city of Nelson, per BC: An Untold History.
The historic previous and tradition of difficult the definition of conflict and decreasing hurt remains to be very a lot alive within the Kootenay area. Shambhala Music Competition’s hurt discount tradition and packages are a well timed testomony.
EDM.com sat down with Chloe Sage, Staff Lead with Shambhala’s ANKORS program, to find out about advances in drug checking, legalization and the way the pageant is influencing public well being at massive and the “conflict on medication” off the dancefloor.
EDM.com: How lengthy has the hurt discount program at Shambhala been in operation?
Chloe Sage: It began in 2004.
EDM.com: What impressed the necessity?
Chloe Sage: Shambhala began as a really small native pageant. When it began to get huge, one of many founding members of the family that began the occasion known as ANKORS asking for help.
ANKORS got here as an invited group and began providing drug checking. The drug provide at the moment within the rave scene was actually unpredictable. ANKORS had noticed the U.S. hurt discount group DanceSafe doing drug checking. DanceSafe type of pioneered the drug checking motion in North America nevertheless it’s been actually onerous for them to maneuver ahead as a result of they’ve the Rave Act within the states.
EDM.com: What’s the Rave Act?
Chloe Sage: The Rave Act bans any type of hurt discount at raves within the U.S. They will’t legally provide provides, training or any details about drug use.
Hurt discount organizations and advocates within the U.S. have lengthy histories of actually throw backpacks over fences at raves to assist individuals drug examine and provide training. It’s been a really incognito motion within the U.S, however insurance policies are altering very quickly now.
Right here in Canada, there’s no Rave Act.
Shambhala can also be on non-public land, which has given further autonomy and freedom to experiment, follow, be taught and evolve through the years. We’ve grown from a staff of 4 to a staff of 70.
Shambhala Music Competition.
EDM.com: Are you able to clarify the historical past and science of drug checking at Shambhala?
Chloe Sage: Up till 2018, we solely had entry to reagent testing. Reagent testing is a course of the place a chemical is dropped on a pattern. The colour change offers a “sure” or “no” reply to foretell what the substance is.
Because of the poisonous drug poisoning opioid disaster, we wished to usher in higher know-how to drug examine.
We discovered a U.Ok. group known as We Are the Loop who have been utilizing FTIR know-how and wished to undertake it. FTIR testing know-how tells the principle substances of the substance, generally as much as 4 components, and the way a lot of every half.
Shambhala supported an ANKORS Go Fund Me marketing campaign for 2 years to assist elevate funding to deliver FTIR drug checking to the pageant. A lot of the funding was donated by the Shambhala Music Competition group and passionate year-over-year pageant attendees.
We first launched FTIR testing in 2018, and it’s been an unbelievable enchancment. Now, we are able to say this can be partly of what you assume it’s, nevertheless it additionally has another issues in it as effectively. This extra detailed testing permits us to supply higher training about potential expectations when utilizing blended substances.
EDM.com: Information is energy.
Chloe Sage: Certainly. Strip samples are additionally collected to check for fentanyl and benzos. When tough substances are delivered that we are able to’t correctly determine, they’re forwarded to Well being Canada’s toxicology lab in Vancouver for additional evaluation.
EDM.com: What are the opposite pillars of hurt discount exterior of drug checking service that ANKORS offers?
Chloe Sage: Decreasing the stigma of drug use via training and consciousness is an enormous one. In 2004, individuals weren’t in a position to get details about utilizing medication wherever. It was actually necessary for us to ship lifelike and factual data that they might go away with and make higher knowledgeable decisions.
EDM.com: It’s crucial work. Historical past has advised us that alcohol prohibition within the Nineteen Twenties didn’t work. When substance use is stigmatized and pushed underground, the extra potential for poisoned provides exists. Do you assume that this mannequin for drug checking ought to lengthen exterior of the digital dance music scene?
Chloe Sage: Drug checking began within the digital dance music scene, for positive. In 2016, when the general public well being emergency was declared in B.C. across the opioid disaster, this motivated the bigger public well being trade to acknowledge the optimistic impression that drug checking has on broader group well being in decreasing deaths and overdoses exterior of festivals.
Attendees chill out at Shambhala Music Competition.
Jarett Lopez
EDM.com: Was the 2016 public well being emergency the opioid or fentanyl disaster that was reported extensively in mainstream media throughout Canada?
Chloe Sage: Sure. We name it a poisonous drug poisoning disaster. It’s not an overdose disaster. Overdose means you took an excessive amount of.
Relating to having a provide within the unlawful drug market that’s contaminated, it doesn’t matter how a lot you’re taking. It’s poisoned.
Scroll to Proceed
The general public well being emergency of poisoned medication is why drug checking has began to maneuver out of the EDM scene and into group settings. Now, it’s actually thrilling truly.
That is the primary yr at Shambhala that now we have a number of drug checking technicians which might be coming from group drug checking tasks throughout the nation. They’re coming right here to be taught in regards to the completely different drug samples they will check and produce new data again to their communities.
EDM.com: That’s so inspiring that Canadian advances in drug checking and hurt discount began right here first. We’ve additionally realized that medical researchers and lecturers have joined in assist.
Chloe Sage: Sure. Silvina Mema, British Columbia’s Medical Well being Officer for Inside Well being, has performed an enormous position in serving to us legalize our efforts. She has believed within the thought of this work and has helped legitimize it. Earlier than, we couldn’t manipulate samples. It wasn’t authorized for us to the touch it. Now, now we have authorized approval from Well being Canada and the province of B.C. to the touch samples and do extra intensive testing.
EDM.com: Occasions positive have modified, haven’t they?
Chloe Sage: Once we first began testing medication at Shambhala we didn’t even put an indication out. It was all phrase of mouth, as a result of we have been apprehensive about getting arrested. Now, all the things we do is authorized.
EDM.com: The lineup on the ANKORS sales space is all the time lengthy. How do you promote your providers?
Chloe Sage: It’s nonetheless principally phrase of mouth.
EDM.com: Have you ever been involved with some other festivals or provinces which have been watching and studying out of your mannequin?
Chloe Sage: Sure. We have been simply at Bass Coast a couple of weeks in the past. We’ve been there for 3 years, and it’s nonetheless fairly new for them, nevertheless it’s been nice. There are different organizations in B.C. which have been doing drug checking at completely different festivals.
Additionally, throughout the nation there are new drug checking tasks which might be coming right here to be taught. For instance, there are two teams right here from Quebec that do drug testing of a cellular van at festivals. They’re known as GRIP Montreal and ELIXER. There are various others from universities and well being areas. I can’t keep in mind all of their names!
EDM.com: You now have a staff of 70. What’s the background expertise required to volunteer?
Chloe Sage: We’ve a really various group. Plenty of us have lived expertise utilizing substances. That have helps.
EDM.com: Would you name yourselves “rave mothers and dads” or—higher but—”rave aunts and uncles”?
Chloe Sage: We name ourselves “drug nerds.” We’re the dork facet that stop individuals from going to the darkish facet and having traumatic experiences with medication. We’re the nerds which might be into the chemistry of all of it.
EDM.com: You’re the scientists, proper?
Chloe Sage: Some individuals on our staff haven’t any skilled expertise, however a number of lived expertise and are keen about hurt discount. Others are in healthcare or work in group welfare. It’s an enormous combine of individuals sharing their data with one another.
EDM.com: What different pillars are concerned in hurt discount? Are you able to communicate to sexual well being, taking nutritional vitamins and figuring out methods to lean on assist techniques? The world of hurt discount is so broad.
Chloe Sage: It is vitally broad. Right here at Shambhala what we’ve tried to do is have linking rings or a hub of care. There are various spokes to the hurt discount wheel which might be led by Stacy Lock, Hurt Discount Director at Shambhala.
Having a secure house for ladies and various genders is de facto necessary. Assaults do occur, and we wish to finish that. Consent tradition training is a very necessary piece of hurt discount.
We additionally wish to assist individuals dose correctly. GHB is de facto fashionable and the commonest explanation for overdose at Shambhala. We give out 5ml barrels so individuals can dose themselves correctly and don’t find yourself in medical.
One other spoke of the wheel is having a sober camp to point out folks that they will interact on this tradition with no need to make use of substances.
We even have an overdose prevention website. It’s the second yr working. Individuals can use, get Naloxone-trained and use safely beneath supervision. Finally, we don’t need individuals utilizing alone within the porta-potties or their tents.
EDM.com: Sure. If individuals wish to use, do it good.
Chloe Sage: Sure. Don’t use alone.
EDM.com: One other spoke of the wheel of hurt discount is “The Sanctuary,” appropriate?
Chloe Sage: Sure. The Sanctuary affords assist for those who have to briefly escape the joy of the rave.
Most that arrive at The Sanctuary are in search of assist as a result of they took a mixture of medication that’s having a detrimental impact on them however they aren’t having a medical emergency. Some are coping with psychological well being points or simply having a tough time. It diverts visitors from medical. Generally individuals simply want a spot to relaxation and relax, and never be in medical somebody being handled for a bloody damaged leg.
EDM.com: We lately found the idea of the Crimson Tent in The Sanctuary on the Depraved Woods Music Competition. The Crimson Tent in a Sanctuary is a spot for ladies to flee “huge dick vitality.”
Chloe Sage: Sure, there’s a Crimson Tent right here that’s reserved just for girls to take a timeout.
In 2022, ANKORS administered 3,300 drug assessments. You will discover out extra about this system here.
FOLLOW SHAMBHALA FESTIVAL:
Web site: shambhalamusicfestival.com
Fb: facebook.com/shambhalamusicfestival
Twitter: twitter.com/shambhala_mf
Instagram: instagram.com/shambhala_mf
YouTube: youtube.com/user/ShambhalaMusicFest
Spotify: spoti.fi/3KIQ3SP