Our opener for the section “Rescue me – Festival Treatments“ is the big topic “drugs”. The silent and loud companion of every festival should be paid attention to. The best way of doing it is with the help of a doctor. What to do when your festival buddys are totally high and lose control.
A little party never killed nobody – well, sometimes it does. The “Musikexpress” has published a chronology regarding this topic, including festival tragedies. Besides problems such as higher forces, e.g. thunderstorms, drugs are a main cause for a lot of injuries or deaths during the festival season. We don’t mean to point the finger on anybody or give you a lecture on this topic, but we care about you. And we know that you are self-reliant. Our aim is to make you more aware of dangerous situations, or, in the worst case, become able to help your friends. This is why we have consulted our house doctor to support us on this topic.
Amphetamine or dancing on a volcano
Let’s start with Amphetamine – maybe more common as Speed or Pep.
It is a completely synthetic substance of artificial origin and belongs to the group of stimulants. Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth) and Cocaine also belong to the same group. Amphetamine is a main part of Ecstasy, too.
What should you be aware of in particular when taking amphetamines? Amphetamines are stimulating and short-term affecting the immediate health of the user, but also stop you from being hungry or thirsty. Especially during the summer months and after a lot of dancing at the festival, it is so important to drink enough water in order to not dehydrate. Dehydration may causes into renal failure. The drug may increases your performance, but it also makes you forget about eating or sleeping. You are not getting tired, but your system is. As a result you may start to shake, become extremely nervous or probably even get cramps and seizures. Heavy dancing or other body exhausting interactions can also lead to an increase in body temperature, which can result in a circulatory collapse.
Hallucinogens, Superman’s Kryptonite
Hallucinogens are a summarization of different types of psychoactive substances, which have almost the same effects on your body. “Classical” hallucinogens are LSD, Magic Mushrooms and Mescalin. Besides there are also a number of plants, such as Fly Agaric or Toadstool and Solanum, as well as synthetic substances such as Ketamine, which have hallucinogen effects if you take a certain dose of it. The hallucination caused by these drugs can lead to anxiety states and a lack of realistic self-evaluation. Nevertheless, if you still choose to take hallucinogens, make sure to have a buddy on your site who doesn’t take any drugs and who’s absolutely reliable. You’ll need a back up! In the past there have been several people who thought that they are Superman and that they could fly. In this case, Kryptonite wasn’t the reason for Superman’s death - it was LSD.
If the trip turns into a nightmare for your friends
In case that a drug has an extremely noticeable effect on one of your buddies, it is absolutely recommendable to ask one of the paramedics for help. If your friend loses his consciousness, it is important to bring him into the recovery position and keep an eye on his breathing. Vomiting won’t reduce the pneumonia due to bacteria and germs that could enter his system and affect his lungs. In most of the cases only a doctor can fight the trip by using an intravenous solution.
In Conclusion
The best way to avoid dehydration – even when you are not thirsty at all – drink some water as often as possible and try to find some rest. Support your salt levels the next morning with some electrolytes. Find some relief from feeling down – oh yeah, you will feel like crap – by eating cashews. They help to refill your dopamine- and serotonin levels.
Important notice: This article only provides information and an overview about the effects of drug abuse. It is not meant to encourage anybody of taking drugs at all! Taking drugs always puts you and people around you under a risk for serious body and psychological damages. The consumption of any drugs is a violation against the narcotics law (BtmG), as well as its purchase, the trade with drugs or even owning them. All drugs mentioned above require prescriptions or are subject of the narcotics law, which means that they can only be used under medical supervision. Don’t take drugs!
