Hello there Fellow Fest Raiders!
From drug dogs to increased security, amnesty bins, restricting the topics and entry areas for journalists… festivals this summer pulled out all the stops to try and ensure that the deaths (and bad press) from drug use did not come their way. They mostly succeeded. Meanwhile, out in the crowd we discovered someone that is looking out for our actual best interests – the Bunk Police team. (Don't be fooled by the name “Police” in their title, they are not in fact affiliated with law enforcement)
The Bunk Police is a simple, cheap way to test a drug and see what it really is.
The small crew of the Bunk Police so far has been smuggling in the test kits to festivals – they are technically not allowed to be there. Their team will then wander through the crowd and then sell the kit itself or will test your drugs for you. So if you want to know if you bought Molly or bath salts from the random dude by the mainstage, Bunk Police is not a bad option (in fact is probably your only legit option). How does it work? Bunk Police kits are a small vial of solution that you put some of the drug into. Based on the color that the solution becomes, you can easily determine what the drug is. The Bunk Police said they have seen everything from laundry detergent to regular table salt mixed in with MDMA. In one summer where Bunk Police tallied its tests of concert-goers cocaine, 29/30 tests did not have any cocaine whatsoever [read more about that here]. I was shocked by how easy and how useful it was. I wondered, why doesn't ever festival have a station for these?!
The founder of Bunk Police says he has tried asking permission to have the drug tests there legally, but has been declined across the board. This is because festivals, if they allow him to be there helping you out, could be seen as ‘accepting' drug use by local governments or police – and then the festival would be shut down. Bunk Police is an anonymous organization, but not because they fear the police or government, but because actual drug dealers tend to get really pissed at them because they can't make as much money.
If you want to test at home, kits on Amazon are $25.
Check out the News coverage on the Bunk Police here:
We owe special thanks to journalist Tim Bella who sent us information about the Bunk Police and is bravely covering this topic. Read more about his interview with the Bunk Police at the Hudson Project here.
The Bunk Police Facebook says “Test Your Shit!” and I agree.
