EDM Fans Most Likely to Take Drugs at Festivals, Study Suggests

EDM fans beat out rock, blues, reggae, and rap fans when it came to reporting their own drug use for a study conducted by Boca Recovery Center.

Well, maybe it’s not just a stigma after all. Boca Recovery Center surveyed 1,006 festival-goers for a study on substance use habits, and higher percentage of EDM fans admitted to taking drugs than those of any other genre.

The only requirement to participate in the Drug Safety at Music Festivals study was having attended a music festival in the year prior, and 37% of those who reported EDM as their favorite genre admitted to taking drugs. Trailing closely behind them were fans of reggae and metal at 34% each.

The specific proportions of Electric Daisy Carnival and Burning Man attendees who reported using drugs were even higher at 39% and 38%, respectively. Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival came in at 37%, meanwhile, and 35% of Gov Ball attendees reported using drugs. The least likely fan base to report taking drugs was that of country music at only 15%.

Notably, participants who consumed alcohol were categorized separately from drug users. Reggae, rap, and hip-hop fans were most likely to do so at 80%, 80%, and 79%, respectively — just above EDM fans, of whom 78% reported using alcohol. Classical music fans reported being the least likely to consume alcohol at 63%.

Drug Safety at Music Festivals includes other valuable takeaways. Fewer than three out of ten music festival attendees reported testing their substances prior to use, it said, and only one in four were aware of onsite testing initiatives. This is despite one in five of those surveyed reporting having witnessed alcohol poisoning or drug overdoses at events, and even with accidental Fentanyl overdoses rising since the pandemic.

Read Drug Safety at Music Festivals in full on the Boca Recovery Center website.