Attending a festival this summer? Know the laws around drugs

Festivals are often a bit of an escape from reality for people, and sometimes that leads to people taking drugs, even if they’ve never tried them before.

But as much as festivals feel like a break from the norm, the drugs laws still apply.

Popular festival drugs

The drugs that circulate around festivals are usually the ‘party’ drugs which include things like:

·      Class A: Cocaine, magic mushrooms, MDMA (ecstasy), LSD (acid)

·      Class B: Ketamine, cannabis

·      Class C: Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)

There have been suggestions lately that ketamine should be upgraded to a Class A drug, given its harmful effects, but at the time of writing it remains a Class B drug.

What happens if you’re caught in possession?

Possession of any of these drugs is illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. That means that you could be arrested and prosecuted if you’re found with any amount of these drugs.

The maximum sentence for possession depends upon the class of drug that you’re find with:

·      Class A: up to 7 years in prison, or a fine, or both

·      Class B: up to 5 years in prison, or a fine, or both

·      Class C: up to 2 years in prison, or a fine, or both

It’s very unlikely that you’ll be given the maximum sentence, but the severity of your sentencing will depend on the quantity of drugs that you’re carrying.

In practice, severe sentences like these are unlikely to be handed out to festival-goers. It’s more likely that the police will confiscate your drugs if they find you in possession and they will give you a formal warning or a caution.

However, some festival goers have been given suspended prison sentences, a certain amount of hours of unpaid work, and curfews for a set number of months.

Penalties are harsher for intent to supply

You may not think that you can be prosecuted for ‘intent to supply’ if you’re not a drug dealer. But you’d be wrong. Technically, if you give any drugs to anybody us, even if that person doesn’t give you any money for them, you’ve conducted the offence to supply drugs.

What that means in practice is that you shouldn’t carry drugs for your friends or any other people. If you’re found with drugs on you, the safest thing to say is that they are all for your personal consumption.

Another important tip is to never agree to look after a stranger’s bag. You don’t know what’s in it and you don’t know if you could be held responsible for its contents.

How the Police prevent drugs entering the festival

Police and / or security will carry out searches as you enter the festival. They can’t physically search everyone, so it’s more of a spot check. They may also have some sniffer dogs around the entrance to help them detect which people to search.

If you’re not compliant with the searches they probably won’t let you in. The police even have powers to detain you under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and perform a strip search.

Once you’re inside the festival, be aware that there may be undercover officers dotted around. They’re likely to have police bodycams to capture any evidence of drug misuse.

What to do if you’re caught and arrested

If you’ve been asked to attend a police station for an interview under caution, make sure you have a solicitor present. It’s your right to do so, and the Police will expect you to ask for one. 

If you need emergency representation like this, please call us on 0333 344 8366 and we’ll send an expert to help you straight away.

0333 3448377 | info@harewoodlaw.com