HSE thanks Electric Picnic and reveals how many drug samples were tested

placeholder image — Pic Credit: Drugs.ie

The HSE's Drugs.ie Harm Reduction Teams were offering advice and testing substances in Stradbally

The HSE’s Harm Reduction team has thanked everyone at Electric Picnic.

The team were on site to test samples of illegal drugs which were surrendered anonymously by festivalgoers and to issue advice to people in Stradbally.

In total they tested 110 samples and issued one alert in relation to extremely potent ecstasy or MDMA tablets. The tablets were found to contain up to three times the average adult dose.

The HSE issued an alert on Friday night due to the “extreme risk” posed by the tablets to anyone who was using them.

“A massive thank you to our incredible volunteers, everyone who visited the drugs.ie tents, spoke with our outreach team, submitted substances for testing, and the entire #EP2025 community - you made this year unforgettable,” the the HSE’s Harm Reduction Team posted on the HSE’s Drugs.ie social media.

“We received 110 samples for testing, each one helping us to provide real-time harm reduction information and make the festival safer for everyone,” they added.

It’s the fourth year that the teams have been on site at Electric Picnic testing samples of illegal drugs. The MDMA discovered at this year’s festival was more potent than any found during testing by the teams in previous years.