It’s clear by this point that President Nixon’s historic and deeply problematic War on Drugs failed to stop the drug trade in America in any measurable way. Addiction and overdoses have actually gotten worse, largely due to the widespread takeover of hard drugs like fentanyl. But how did we get here? And how do we support the freedom to experiment without crossing the line into harm?

It’s no secret that the music festival industry in North America — and the rest of the world — is having a rough year. Over the last few months, dozens of events have faced bad weather, poor ticket sales, revoked permits, and outright cancellations, and many festivals have never recovered from the COVID pandemic.