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Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees

Chloe Rayner, Jason Davies Orcid Logo, Ceri Bradshaw, Alex Jones Orcid Logo

Drug Science, Policy and Law, Volume: 11

Swansea University Authors: Chloe Rayner, Jason Davies Orcid Logo, Ceri Bradshaw, Alex Jones Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1177/20503245251371721

Abstract

BackgroundSubstance use at UK music festivals presents a significant public health challenge, with evolving patterns of drug use, associated risk behaviours, and harm reduction practices among attendees.MethodsA sample of UK festival attendees (N = 773) completed a lengthy online survey detailing th...

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Published in: Drug Science, Policy and Law
ISSN: 2050-3245 2050-3245
Published: SAGE Publications 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70172
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last_indexed 2025-10-07T04:20:57Z
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Users of ketamine (z&#x2009;=&#x2009;&#x2212;10.58, P&#x2009;&lt;&#x2009;.001), or novel psychoactive substances (z&#x2009;=&#x2009;&#x2212;4.23, P&#x2009;&lt;&#x2009;.001) were significantly younger than non-users. The findings highlight the prevalence of alcohol use (92.8%, N&#x2009;=&#x2009;718), and polysubstance use (60.7%, N&#x2009;=&#x2009;476). Alcohol was particularly prevalent within the context of polysubstance use (71.6%, N&#x2009;=&#x2009;341). Notably, polysubstance use involving the combined use of five substances (alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, and MDMA) during the same period was concerningly common among those engaging in polysubstance use (25%, N&#x2009;=&#x2009;119). The study identified a lack of engagement with critical harm reduction practices and provisions, such as accessing drug checking services (N&#x2009;=&#x2009;53, 6.7%) or onsite welfare provisions (N&#x2009;=&#x2009;82, 10.6%).ConclusionsThe low reports of accessing formal onsite services suggests the need for improved educational outreach and the potential to enhance engagement through informal online platforms. This study highlights the importance of context-specific drug use patterns and targeted interventions, aiming to facilitate more effective public health responses. 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spelling 2025-10-06T13:35:20.6272380 v2 70172 2025-08-12 Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees 003a16f6daacf243932585b0cd37666e Chloe Rayner Chloe Rayner true false b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0 0000-0002-1694-5370 Jason Davies Jason Davies true false 8b96f170df39ac5f5af2f9354946a630 Ceri Bradshaw Ceri Bradshaw true false a24e1e2a89b0a9120fe03b481a629edd 0000-0003-3600-3644 Alex Jones Alex Jones true false 2025-08-12 MEDS BackgroundSubstance use at UK music festivals presents a significant public health challenge, with evolving patterns of drug use, associated risk behaviours, and harm reduction practices among attendees.MethodsA sample of UK festival attendees (N = 773) completed a lengthy online survey detailing their typical substance use practices and related behaviours within music festival contexts.ResultsThis study reports patterns in substance preferences and polysubstance use combinations, where younger individuals report the use of novel substances, while older attendees to use more historically popular drugs. Users of ketamine (z = −10.58, P < .001), or novel psychoactive substances (z = −4.23, P < .001) were significantly younger than non-users. The findings highlight the prevalence of alcohol use (92.8%, N = 718), and polysubstance use (60.7%, N = 476). Alcohol was particularly prevalent within the context of polysubstance use (71.6%, N = 341). Notably, polysubstance use involving the combined use of five substances (alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, and MDMA) during the same period was concerningly common among those engaging in polysubstance use (25%, N = 119). The study identified a lack of engagement with critical harm reduction practices and provisions, such as accessing drug checking services (N = 53, 6.7%) or onsite welfare provisions (N = 82, 10.6%).ConclusionsThe low reports of accessing formal onsite services suggests the need for improved educational outreach and the potential to enhance engagement through informal online platforms. This study highlights the importance of context-specific drug use patterns and targeted interventions, aiming to facilitate more effective public health responses. These findings indicate the necessity for adaptive and targeted interventions, particularly those addressing alcohol consumption, polysubstance use, and the promotion of early help-seeking. Journal Article Drug Science, Policy and Law 11 SAGE Publications 2050-3245 2050-3245 Music festivals; drug use; alcohol use; harm reduction; risk behaviours 7 9 2025 2025-09-07 10.1177/20503245251371721 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2025-10-06T13:35:20.6272380 2025-08-12T09:52:37.0074809 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science Chloe Rayner 1 Jason Davies 0000-0002-1694-5370 2 Ceri Bradshaw 3 Alex Jones 0000-0003-3600-3644 4 70172__35258__d7a61ec21788425e9ac19fe0998a40a2.pdf 70172.VoR.pdf 2025-10-06T13:31:58.2032938 Output 322690 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
spellingShingle Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
Chloe Rayner
Jason Davies
Ceri Bradshaw
Alex Jones
title_short Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
title_full Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
title_fullStr Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
title_full_unstemmed Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
title_sort Patterns of recreational substance use, help seeking and harm reduction among UK music festival attendees
author_id_str_mv 003a16f6daacf243932585b0cd37666e
b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0
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a24e1e2a89b0a9120fe03b481a629edd
author_id_fullname_str_mv 003a16f6daacf243932585b0cd37666e_***_Chloe Rayner
b7dab4136f5c9c0614cda9bf2d5910b0_***_Jason Davies
8b96f170df39ac5f5af2f9354946a630_***_Ceri Bradshaw
a24e1e2a89b0a9120fe03b481a629edd_***_Alex Jones
author Chloe Rayner
Jason Davies
Ceri Bradshaw
Alex Jones
author2 Chloe Rayner
Jason Davies
Ceri Bradshaw
Alex Jones
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container_title Drug Science, Policy and Law
container_volume 11
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2050-3245
2050-3245
doi_str_mv 10.1177/20503245251371721
publisher SAGE Publications
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Health Data Science
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description BackgroundSubstance use at UK music festivals presents a significant public health challenge, with evolving patterns of drug use, associated risk behaviours, and harm reduction practices among attendees.MethodsA sample of UK festival attendees (N = 773) completed a lengthy online survey detailing their typical substance use practices and related behaviours within music festival contexts.ResultsThis study reports patterns in substance preferences and polysubstance use combinations, where younger individuals report the use of novel substances, while older attendees to use more historically popular drugs. Users of ketamine (z = −10.58, P < .001), or novel psychoactive substances (z = −4.23, P < .001) were significantly younger than non-users. The findings highlight the prevalence of alcohol use (92.8%, N = 718), and polysubstance use (60.7%, N = 476). Alcohol was particularly prevalent within the context of polysubstance use (71.6%, N = 341). Notably, polysubstance use involving the combined use of five substances (alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, and MDMA) during the same period was concerningly common among those engaging in polysubstance use (25%, N = 119). The study identified a lack of engagement with critical harm reduction practices and provisions, such as accessing drug checking services (N = 53, 6.7%) or onsite welfare provisions (N = 82, 10.6%).ConclusionsThe low reports of accessing formal onsite services suggests the need for improved educational outreach and the potential to enhance engagement through informal online platforms. This study highlights the importance of context-specific drug use patterns and targeted interventions, aiming to facilitate more effective public health responses. These findings indicate the necessity for adaptive and targeted interventions, particularly those addressing alcohol consumption, polysubstance use, and the promotion of early help-seeking.
published_date 2025-09-07T05:31:53Z
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