You may want to sit down if you’re reading this on your phone right now, because a recent study found some shocking information about your fellow metalheads and their behavior at music festivals. It turns out that among all concertgoers, metal fans really like getting fucked up.
In a study conducted for the Boca Recovery Center, researchers surveyed 1,006 Americans who reported having attended a music festival in the last year. What they found was that metalheads were the second most likely group of people to use drugs during a festival at about 34% of respondents. That made them tied with reggae fans and only EDM fans did more drugs. It turns out metal fans also really like getting drunk at shows too, with 74% of respondents that reported attending metal festivals in the past saying they enjoyed a few cold ones.
Researchers also learned that 16% of metalhead respondents said they’d done mushrooms at a festival before, while 1-in-10 said they’d done LSD and 1-in-8 said they’d done ‘Molly’ or MDMA. In fact, researchers learned that just 20% of all metalhead respondents said they chose to remain sober at festivals.
When you look at the overall figures, alcohol was the far and away most popular substance of choice at 72%, with marijuana coming in second place at 32%. The fact that so many people drink at festivals isn’t super shocking, but what is shocking is how much money people spend on average. According to the study, the average person drinks six alcoholic beverages at a music festival, costing them approximately $89. Conversely, drug users spend about $111 on illicit substances at festivals.
Sadly, researchers found that among all respondents, roughly 20% have witnessed alcohol poisoning or drug overdoses, while roughly 1-in-12 have personally blacked out. As such, 87% of respondents said festivals should have more on-site harm reduction sites, which could include drug testing and hydration stations.
As for efforts to reduce drug and alcohol consumption at shows in the first place, 62% of respondents agreed that they’d support drug-free initiatives. Ask metalheads, however, and just 51% said they would be in favor of drug-free initiatives at festivals.
Do you like to partake at a metal festival? Let us know in the comments down below.
