Medical treatment given to 17 people at Canadian festival due to drugs and alcohol

Seventeen people received medical treatment at a Canadian music festival last weekend, reportedly related to drugs and alcohol.

One of those treated at Chasing Summer in Calgary - a woman in her 30s - was in life-threatening condition, while five were in serious but stable condition and 11 were stable.

Although it's not known how many of the patients were still in hospital on Sunday, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have said most cases were caused by alcohol being taken with MDMA, marijuana, ketamine, GHB and cocaine.

EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux issued a warning about the use of drugs, saying: "We need people to understand the risk that they're undertaking if they ingest these substance under any circumstance, regardless of if it's in the context of a rave or festival.

"It's particularly dangerous when people are mixing drugs with alcohol or other drugs."

Festival producer Union Events issued a statement, highlighting its focus on safety and the availability of free water on-site.

"With several hundred event security staff and volunteers onsite, along with our onsite medical team, pay duty AHS EMT, pay duty Calgary Police Service officers, and on-site ambulance, our comprehensive emergency response plan allowed our team to effectively respond to any incidents as they arose in a quick and efficient manner.

"Our policy of offering free drinking water to patrons helps reduce cases of dehydration. We encouraged patrons to bring empty bottles for filling with them to the festival, and had 24 free water spouts available for their use."

Tiësto, Gorgon City and Green Velvet were just a few DJs playing at the two-day festival. See Chasing Summer's full statement here.

[ Via: Calgary Herald and Global News]