Yahoo News Mum, 32, collapses and dies after taking half a pill at music festival
A 32 year old mum described as 'amazing' tragically died after taking half an ecstasy tablet before heading to a music festival. Stephanie Thorpe was seen taking half of the pill by her friends at a pub on Saturday, June 25 last year.
She then made her way to the Restricted Forest Festival in Lancashire. Stephanie, who leaves behind her partner Carl and their baby boy Alfie, was enjoying the music and dancing at the festival but collapsed around 6.30pm that evening.
Her temperature had shockingly risen to 41.6C, with her core temperature two degrees higher, making her condition 'unsurvivable'. She passed away at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
The inquest into her death, held yesterday (April 18), heard that Stephanie had previously taken pills at dance events but had 'never had a bad experience'. Following her tragic death, the organisers of the Restricted Forest Festival have cancelled this year's Blackburn event, with plans to hold it in Liverpool instead.
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The court was informed that Stephanie, who worked with children with complex needs, was only seen taking half a 'White Dove' tablet before the festival, though it is possible she may have consumed more, reports LancsLive.
Dr Mark Clayton, a seasoned expert in medical provision and event planning at music festivals with extensive knowledge of ecstasy's usage and effects, detailed the 'perfect storm' that led to Stephanie's untimely death. He stated: "If someone is drinking alcohol your body is less able to breakdown MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) because the liver is focused on the alcohol and that can also cause dehydration.
"When you're dehydrated it hyper concentrates all substances in the blood and increases the relative concentration. If the environment is above 20C you are more likely to suffer harm from ecstasy and more likely to suffer serotonin syndrome or a high temperature.
"Once you cross the 20C threshold the risk of harm increases and there were multiple factors at play. Stephanie was dehydrated; she was seen dancing a lot and sweating and it was a very hot day so her ability to lose heat was impaired.
"She was only seen taking half a tablet in the beer garden but once you take the first dose it saturates the system so if you take more those pathways are already working at full capacity. Multi-dosing is related to an increased risk of harm."
He further explained that once symptoms from ecstasy use begin, without 'active cooling or organ support', survival chances plummet. "Once you pass 42C the likelihood of survival is very, very low," he concluded.
The inquest heard troubling details about the medical services and availability of free drinking water at the festival. Dr Clayton highlighted that while the law mandates licensed premises or events to provide free drinking water, attendees often neglect it when they are engrossed in the festivities.
"People don't drink water at festivals because it's not easy to get hold of," he said. "Any licensed premises has to provide drinking water free of charge but they can charge for the glass."
He also noted that festival-goers who are deeply immersed in their experience, or 'in the zone', typically do not prioritise hydration. The inquest was informed that the use of ecstasy is rampant at such events, with a staggering 87 per cent of attendees acknowledging the use of illegal drugs within the past year.
"It's part of festival culture," Dr Clayton remarked. "In the UK there are between six to 10 deaths a year and the majority of those are ecstasy."
He shared his encounters with individuals at festivals who have previously used ecstasy without adverse effects. In a recent development, the team behind Restricted Events announced a pause on events in Blackburn as a gesture of respect.
Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley confirmed ongoing discussions with both the event organisers and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, which is responsible for issuing the event license.
Dr Adeley is set to draft a Prevention of Future Deaths report, which he plans to dispatch to all licensing authorities in Lancashire, with the aim of enhancing festival safety. "It will be to make festivals safer; it doesn't make them safe," he clarified.
Addressing Stephanie's friends and those who partake in ecstasy at music festivals directly, Dr Adeley implored: "If you are attending festivals just be careful please. On the other hand I don't want to be an entire killjoy but take it gently please."
The coroner concluded that Stephanie's death was accidental, rather than drug-related, stating: "This is a situation where a young woman is taking a tablet that she doesn't know the strength of and combined with a range of other contributing factors - the heat of the day - in my view this was an accidental death."
Following Stephanie's tragic passing, her friend Holly McLaughlin started a GoFundMe campaign that amassed over £17,000. She expressed: "On June 25 our amazing funny irreplaceable gorgeous girl life was taken away from us so suddenly."
"We all as family and friends, even the community, are all so deeply devastated as you can imagine, she has left so many holes in everyone's hearts right now."
In light of recent events, Restricted Events and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council have announced the cancellation of this year's event at Witton Park. The Restricted Forest festival is now scheduled to occur at Orrell Hill Woods in Liverpool on Saturday, June 22.
Martin Eden, the council's strategic director of environment and operations, expressed his condolences, stating: "The council took the decision not to proceed with any further events until after the coroner's inquest has taken place. We extend our thoughts and deepest condolences to family and friends at such an extremely difficult and sad time."
Zander Lawrenson, CEO of Restricted Events, also issued an apology to those affected by the suspension of this year's events, saying: "Restricted Events have operated events successfully in Witton Park for seven years and these include Restricted Forest and Restricted Rocks. Our events take months of planning from an organisational and safety perspective to ensure that not only is the event a success, but everyone can be guaranteed safety."
He continued, acknowledging the tragic incident: "As was reported, sadly someone passed away following last year's Restricted Forest event. As a mark of respect for this person, we have temporarily suspended events here in Blackburn until the outcome of the inquest."
Lawrenson added, looking to the future: "Once this is finalised we intend to consult with the council with a view to resuming our events in the future. We apologise to the thousands of people who would have attended this year's events and look forward to seeing you all soon."
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