Atlanta Electronic Dance Music Festival Will Give Advice on Molly and Other Party Drugs

A nonprofit drug education group will be on hand at the TomorrowWorld electronic dance music festival in Atlanta on Friday to give advice on the dangers of using Molly and other party drugs. The group will also tell people who choose to use the drugs how to do so more safely.

Music industry executives are waiting to see whether the organizers of TomorrowWorld can avoid drug-related deaths, The New York Times reports. TomorrowWorld has entered an agreement with DanceSafe, a charity that distributes information about the safer use of drugs such as Molly. Some volunteers will roam the crowd, distributing flyers about avoiding overdoses, while others will offer counseling at an air-conditioned “cool-down” lounge.

Molly is the suspected cause of two deaths at a recent New York City music festival, which was shut down by city officials. The drug, a more pure form of Ecstasy, comes in a powder. It has been available for decades, but has become more popular recently with college students.

Until now, electronic U.S. music festival promoters have had a zero tolerance drug policy, making them reluctant to give concertgoers tips on how to avoid overdoses, the article notes. Some police and local officials also object to flyers and public service announcements warning against mixing Molly with alcohol, or describing dosages of Molly. They say these messages can be construed as condoning drug use.

Shawn Kent, the U.S. project manager for the Belgian company producing TomorrowWorld, said promoters cannot stop all concertgoers from making bad decisions about drug use, despite tight security, confiscation of drugs, undercover narcotics officers in the crowd and the presence of paramedics and ambulances. “This is a societal issue,” he said. “The way to help people who have these issues is to give them information. At some point, it’s individual responsibility.”