Karine Te Kanawa (centre) came down from Mount Maunganui to be at this year’s event The festival has previously been overshadowed by incidents of drugs. In 2018, 13 people were hospitalised after taking ‘brown sugar’ at the event. This year, police and organisers were proactive to curb drug use, with security staff carrying out pocket and bag searchers as people arrived at the main gate.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/Stuff
Drugs taken from attendees included, ‘bath salts’, synthetic cannabis, meth, MDMA and LSD. Substances found included synthetic cathinones – known as bath salts – which are often mis-sold as MDMA. Synthetic cannabis was also discovered as well as LSD.