The stats are in: 323 punters were caught at Splendour in the Grass carrying drugs, including cannabis, ice, MDMA, and cocaine. Last year, That’s nearly four times as many as were caught last year, when 92 attendees were busted.
Of those caught, 80 were issued cannabis cautions and over 200 were hit with court attendance notices, and that’s gotta sting. NSW Police conducted a pretty massive operation over five days, with sniffer dogs, plainclothes cops and roadside drug testing.
Considering the debate is shifting toward harm minimisation at festivals and similar events, it’s a bit discouraging to see cops doubling down.
The police said they were still pretty pleased with the behaviour of the punters, despite the record numbers. Detective Superintendent Wayne Starling said the cops were overall happy with the way everything went.
Once again police worked closely with Splendour organisers to ensure a safe and enjoyable festival, so it was positive to see that the majority of attendees heeded police warnings and behaved themselves. Our officers were even approached by music fans who thanked them for being there to keep everyone safe – it was tremendous to see such great support from the event community.
So those are the stakes. Doesn’t look like we’ll be re-evaluating how we approach drug use at large events any time soon – it’s all sniffer dogs and cops.
Source: Triple J.
Photo: Getty Images.
