Harm Reduction or Psychedelic Support? Caring for Drug-Related Crises at Transformational Festivals
Dancecult January 1, 2015 Deirdre Ruane 35 citations
Transformational festivals often include psychedelic support spaces staffed by volunteers who typically view psychedelics as tools for personal growth. These volunteers must adopt the contrasting language of harm reduction to gain access and legitimacy at events. Harm reduction, originally a grassroots heroin advocacy movement, has become associated with medicalized views of drug use. This article examines how support workers navigate these conflicting discourses across different drug policy climates. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at seven festivals in the UK, US, and Portugal, including participant observation and interviews with nineteen support workers, the study found tensions between psychedelic and harm reduction discourses within organizations and with medics, security, organizers, and police. The findings suggest mainstream harm reduction may poorly fit psychedelics, potentially creating divides that damage trust between users and workers.