15 hospitalized for substance abuse at Calgary's Chasing Summer festival
CBC News | Posted: August 8, 2017 1:16 PM | Last Updated: August 8, 2017
Dance music party at Max Bell Centre has been marred by drug and alcohol problems in years past
A two-day dance music party in southeast Calgary saw 15 people taken to hospital for drug- and alcohol-related medical emergencies, an EMS official says.
Chasing Summer attracted thousands of electronic music fans to the Max Bell Centre grounds on Saturday and Sunday to hear headliners including Tiesto, Zedd, and Vancouver's The Funk Hunters.
EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux says at least 15 party-goers had to be taken away in ambulances suffering from various substance abuse issues, including drugs and alcohol.
"It was determined in many cases these were not opioid-related substance abuse events," he said.
In previous years, paramedics have had to treat festival goers who took MDMA, ecstasy, cocaine or who drank too much alcohol.
In 2015, 17 people were taken to hospital during the Chasing Summer party.
The year before that, at least six people were treated.
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