Another festival has witnessed another tragic, untimely death. John Hoang Dinh Vo, a 22 year old from San Diego, was pronounced dead at the Loma Linda University Medical Center after suffering a seizure at the Beyond Wonderland festival in Devore, CA. Toxicology results are still pending after Tuesday’s autopsy, as Vo became the second person to die there since Insomniac moved the massive festival from the National Orange Show Events Center to the San Manuel Amphitheater in 2013. Coincidentally, this move came as a result of numerous complaints regarding drug abuse, noise, and safety issues from San Bernardino residents and business owners. San Bernardino County even considered legal action against Insomniac, attempting to dissuade this raucous conduct.
Deaths at EDM festivals have sadly gone from being a tragic shock to a morose statistic. Ever since the notorious deaths of two students at Electric Zoo in 2013, it seems like drug-related passings are popping up at almost every major festival. This atrocious reality has created a negative stereotype surrounding EDM, and users have no one to blame but themselves. Its quite obvious that a staggering number of attendees are ‘rolling’ when you go to a festival; the signs are as bright as the lights flashing from the stages. You constantly see the dilated, bug-eyed look of ravers sweating like Niagara Falls, looking like a deer in the headlights. But 99.9% of users do not end up in the news, they live to tell their friends about the incredible time they had experiencing the festival. So what’s the issue? The issue is over-usage, and the complete ignorance of hydration and basic human survival needs. This is in no way promoting MDMA; in fact, you should avoid the drug at all costs due to the immense brain damage it causes. However, you can’t stop people from using drugs. Drugs have been abused for millennia – it’s just human nature. What we can do is inform the ones who do abuse them, show them that every possible preventative measure should be taken whilst ‘rolling’ or ‘tripping’ so these devastating deaths stop popping up in the news. So if you do find yourself taking drugs at an EDM festival, or anywhere for that matter, for God’s sake drink as much water as you physically can. (Though not too much, over-hydration is a real danger, as well.)
Image Source: Billboard