Use of reagent test kits and fentanyl test strips among electronic music festival attendees in Colorado: prevalence, barriers, and behavior in response to drug checking.

Abstract

Background: Polysubstance use is common at electronic dance music (EDM) events and hazards associated with polysubstance use may be exacerbated when people who use drugs are unaware of the contents of their drug sample. Reagent test kits (RTK) and fentanyl test strips (FTS) are two efficacious drug checking tools that people who use drugs might use to protect themselves from risks associated with contamination, adulteration, and misrepresentation of unregulated substances. In the current study, we aimed to (1) characterize the use of RTK and FTS among attendees of a 4-day music festival in Colorado and (2) qualitatively capture perceived barriers to using RTK and FTS within festival settings.

Methods: We surveyed 227 music festival attendees on their use of drug checking tools (i.e., RTK and FTS) and behavior in response to drug checking. We also collected qualitative data on perceived barriers of using RTK and FTS within a festival setting using survey-based open-ended text response questions.

Results: The percentage of participants having ever used RTK and FTS was 75.3% and 66.5% respectively. When asked how often participants ensure their drugs are tested prior to consumption, participants responding "always" or "most of the time" was 54.4% for use of RTK and 59.4% for use of FTS. Additionally, 60.8% of participants reported that they had never consumed a drug that reagent tested differently than expected and 87.9% of participants reported that they had never consumed a drug that tested positive for fentanyl. Perceived barriers to using RTK and FTS within a festival setting encompassed the following themes: (1) accessing testing materials (2) environmental or ecological barriers (3) legal concerns (4) social dynamics (5) lack of education/training and (6) limits of individual drug checking tools.

Conclusions: RTK and FTS appear to empower festival attendees in the U.S. to make informed decisions related to their substance use. However, there is a critical need to reduce barriers associated with drug checking for this at-risk population.