Editing Big Day Out (section)

===Drugs===
Drug use is associated with many Australian music festivals, including  Big Day Out,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=138 |title=Illicit Drug Use at Events and Venues |publisher=Drug & Alcohol Services South Australia |access-date=5 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514120844/http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=138 |archive-date=14 May 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> with anecdotal reports strongly indicating that alcohol continues to be the most prevalent drug at all events. Police have intercepted suspected users and [[Illegal drug trade|dealers]] by placing [[Detection dog|drug sniffing dogs]] at some entrances of each festival and patrolling the event (see [[New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal]]).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/23/1232471574961.html|title=Big Day Out drug busts|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=5 February 2009 | date=23 January 2009}}</ref> At the 2008 festival in Sydney, police made 86 drug-related arrests. In 2009, 107 people were detained for drug violations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/jan/24/aap-more-than-100-drug-busts-at-big-day-out/|title=More than 100 drug busts at Big Day Out|publisher=Sunshine Coast Daily online|access-date=5 February 2009}}</ref> At the 2009 Perth leg of the festival tour, more than 70 arrests were charged with drug-related offences.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out teen dies of suspected drug overdose|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-02/big-day-out-teen-dies-of-suspected-drug-overdose/280384|work=ABC News|publisher=ABC|access-date=7 September 2012|author=ABC News|date=2 February 2009}}</ref>

====Death of Gemma Thoms====
At the 2009 Big Day Out festival in Perth, 17-year-old Gemma Thoms collapsed after allegedly taking three [[MDMA|ecstasy]] tablets.<ref name="Gemma">{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25012231-5001021,00.html|title=Gemma Thoms' mother speaks out|work=News.com.au|access-date=5 February 2009 | first=Glenn | last=Cordingley | date=5 February 2009}}</ref> She died 12 hours later in [[Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital]], after being transferred from the event's first-aid post.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/02/2480433.htm|title=Premier hopes teens learn from Big Day Out drug death|newspaper=ABC News|date=2 February 2009|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=5 February 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090205115031/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/02/2480433.htm| archive-date= 5 February 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> The girl and her friend reportedly took one tablet each whilst at home before the event. After arriving, she saw police near the entrance, panicked, and swallowed another two tablets.<ref name="Gemma"/> Police later denied responsibility for Thoms' death, suggesting that no sniffer dogs were being used to search patrons at the entrance she had used. They agreed that "There may have been a perceived fear of being detected". Thoms had been driven by car and had not taken the train to the station where police were searching.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25006270-5005941,00.html|title=Police deny responsibility for Gemma Thoms death at BDO|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=5 February 2009|date=4 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225143549/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0%2C%2C25006270-5005941%2C00.html|archive-date=25 February 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>