Extrema Outdoor warns against ‘Pink Powder’ at the festival: « Dangerous combination of drugs » (Houthalen-Helchteren)
Extrema Outdoor has sent a warning on Saturday afternoon for so-called ‘Pink Powder’, which circulates at the festival in Houthalen-Helchteren. The warning comes after consultation with Sciensano. « The powder circulates in different compositions, with different shapes and quantities of drugs. »
Earlier Extrema announced that they are pursuing a different drug policy this year. For example, the festival -goers no longer receive systematic updates of different pills with dangerously high amounts of drugs, which are found at the festival. The risk messages are refined and tailored to the possible danger. The renewed drug policy fits in with the change of course that Sciensano has drawn for all festivals in our country.
On Saturday afternoon around 3 pm, the organization of the festival sent a first warning. Not for a pill, but for ‘Pink Powder’. « It is effective about pink powder that can contain different types of drugs, » says drug expert Maarten Degreef of Sciensano. « We cannot properly estimate the different compositions and its effects. The powder can contain different combinations of different shapes and quantities of drugs. Usually it is mainly about MDMA. »
Jars
« The powder can put in jars or bags and is pink in color. It is a phenomenon that we have seen for several years, but mainly abroad, » says Degreef. Now it has also landed on Extrema Outdoor. « We consciously choose to actively warn festival -goers about this, because it is also very difficult for them to estimate what is in that powder. »
Just like last year, researchers are busy this weekend in the Mobile Test Labo of the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) to analyze seizures, powders and liquids on hazardous substances and on an excessive dose of active material.
