Sniffer dogs and bag searches can make drug danger at festivals more likely, Victorian coroner finds | Australia news

Police, security guards, bag searches, and sniffer dogs at music festivals can lead to riskier drug use and greater harms, a Victorian coroner who examined the death of a 28-year-old woman has found.

Trang Thi Thu Le collapsed, suffered seizures and went into cardiac arrest after consuming MDMA and ketamine at an electronic dance music event, Marlo Altitude, at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena in 2023.

Le attended the event on 16 September with her friends and partner as a way to celebrate her birthday. She collapsed after dancing with friends.

A healthcare emergency response crew assisted her but despite their efforts, Le went into cardiac arrest. She was transferred to hospital where, despite numerous treatments, she died at 12.20am on 17 September, her birthday.

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In findings published on Wednesday, coroner Ingrid Giles recommended that there be greater drug harm reduction guidance for music festival and event organisers in Victoria, with the state health department’s code of practice not updated since 2013.

She recommended the department update the guidelines in consultation with harm reduction and clinical experts.

“A common thread throughout research is that countermeasures designed exclusively to prevent people using drugs [for example police, security guards, bag searches, sniffer dogs, higher penalties for drug possession] have no positive impact on drug use or related harms, and in some cases can actually lead to riskier drug use and greater drug harms,” Giles found.

From 2000 to 2024, 18 people died after overdosing at Victorian music festivals and events, Giles found in her investigation into Le’s death. Those who died were typically young adults, with an average age of 26 years, and MDMA was implicated in 15 of these deaths.

A submission to the coroner from Harm Reduction Victoria said practices at some music events, such as regular checks by staff looking for signs of drug use in the toilets, prohibiting people from bringing in water, long lines to access water, random “pat down” searches of attenders, and security-led responses to people who may be experiencing the effects of drugs, may contribute to mistrust and fear among attenders.

This may lead to riskier drug-taking behaviour, such as taking a dangerous amount of drugs before attending the event to avoid bringing them inside and being caught, the submission said.

There was limited information available about the details and circumstances of Le’s drug use prior to her death, and Giles did not make any adverse findings in relation to the management of the Marlo Altitude event.

However, in the context of other similar deaths and after considering submissions and evidence from experts, Giles found a need to critically examine what guidance is now available to music event organisers about how to run safe events.

Giles commended the free and confidential pill testing trial under way in Victoria, describing it as a vital part of the state’s overall harm reduction strategy.

“Drug checking or pill testing services at outdoor music festivals were found to be associated with people using reduced dose sizes of drugs and being more likely to dispose of potentially dangerous drugs,” she found.