I am curious why people pretend there is no drug use at hippie festivals?
I don't see people saying there is NO drug use, so much as denying that it is a pervasive presence (which is a matter of subjective opinion) or that a majority of those in attendance are indulging in illegal substances (which is up for empirical analysis and anecdotal argument). And I have to say I fall on the side of those arguing against the idea that all festivals are awash in illegal substances.
I've been active in the folk/art/cultural festival scene for 25+ years, starting when my child was under 5 years old and we'd take him out for a day of music, facepainting and other fun. We've done this now in 3 different countries. And of course in that time we've seen some attendees partaking in mind-altering substances. But a majority of fest-goers whacked out on drugs? No. An unsafe environment for a child accompanied by an adult? No.
Maybe that's my bubble, and it's different elsewhere, or at truly gigantic festivals (over 20,000). I dunno. I tend to think it's a pretty big bubble I'm in though. There is some intersection between my mostly east-coast US/Canada crowd of friends and artists, and the Harts' west-coast scene. We've got Burners who camp with us. They're not getting stoned either. And I haven't gotten wind of any cultish religious gurus holding sway over the festival organizers or artists, much less the crowd at large.
At one of our annual festivals we run a large camp for longtime friends as well as some musicians, and often outsiders stop by to enjoy an impromptu performance or to socialize. Yeteven with these strangers dropping by randomly during a week out on the farm, there's no problem with establishing boundaries or respecting our own camp's "boring middle aged folks/parents" culture. The hardest substance we generally encounter is alcohol, which flows at our own bar anyway (a bar which is always tended or locked away, so kids can't get into it.) And if some random stroller should perchance bring out a bowl, as has happened exactly once in our camp's 19 years, a request to them to take it elsewhere, away from the kids and the adults who don't want to be exposed to it, is all that's needed. No aggression, no hostility.
I saw way more drugs on the campus of my suburban high school in the '70s, in the bathrooms and courtyard, than I've ever seen at a folk festival. My son saw way more drugs in his own high school a generation later. And there are way more strung-out people on public transit, way more drunks at the stadium during a major-league game and far more likelihood of being physically/sexually assaulted at either. The festival scene is truly bucolic by comparison, even if the hippies do dress funny, and act blissed-out, and buy their kids animal costumes. As for the performers, they're working a pretty gruelling schedule, multiple performances each day, in conditions ranging from 90ºF+ in the daytime to maybe 45ºF at night, sometimes in full summer-thunderstorm mode, on top of hiking all over expansive festival grounds. Most of them aren't indulging in more than a cold energy drink or a cup of coffee either (or maybe a late-night Scotch) so long as they're on the outdoor-festival circuit.
Just my opinion, just my experience, just my POV.
