Field experiments: psychonauts’ efforts to reduce the harm of old and new drugs at music festivals

Abstract

The effects and risks of the myriad novel substances circulating at music festivals are poorly understood by many paramedics, police, and other support staff. It is often the drug enthusiasts known as psychonauts, who experiment with new substances and document their experiences using procedures and discourses drawn from science, who possess the most extensive and up-to-date information. Concerned about harm arising from misinformation, especially regarding novel substances, many psychonauts attend festivals hoping to help reduce it. However, the chaotic yet heavily policed festival environments can complicate their efforts. This article draws on participant observation and interviews with psychonauts at transformational festivals, supported by an online qualitative survey, to examine their three harm reduction strategies: volunteering as peer support workers (‘sitters’) at drug crisis care spaces, informal mentoring, and ‘responsible dealing’ (carefully sourcing and dispensing the drugs themselves). It also considers the impact of festival settings and their drug policy environments. Understanding of drug experiences gave psychonaut sitters and mentors advantages over other festival support workers, but tough policing practices fostered mistrust of sitters and increased the risks of ‘responsible dealing’. Ultimately, psychonauts’ ‘scientific’ approach may be more effective as a reassuring discursive strategy than a practical way of reducing harm.

Keywords:

• Brief interventions
• drug education
• effective communication
• ethnography
• harm reduction
• peer networks
• polydrug use

Disclosure statement

The author declares no conflicts of interest with regard to this research.