![\"20260825_130625\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787731693_459_.jpeg\")
\n Melvin Benn picutred with Florence Road on the main stage at Electric Picnic. The Journal<\/p>\n
ELECTRIC PICNIC\u2019S BOSS Melvin Benn has urged festival-goers not to take ketamine this weekend amid warnings over the growing popularity of the drug in Ireland.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters at Stradbally on Tuesday, Benn, who serves as\u00a0managing director of Festival Republic and the main director overseeing Electric Picnic, was asked about concerns around ketamine use ahead of the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t take it,\u201d Benn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, it\u2019s made for horses, for heaven\u2019s sake. It\u2019s the most nonsense thing in the world to take.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would genuinely say illegal drugs are illegal for a specific purpose, and that is because they\u2019re potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my message is not to take drugs, and my message is to get a decent pint of Guinness down here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ketamine is an anaesthetic which has legitimate uses in both human and veterinary medicine, but is also used recreationally for its dissociative and hallucinogenic effects.<\/p>\n
Concerns have been raised about its growing recreational use in Ireland, particularly among younger people.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Electric Picnic, addiction experts have also warned of a rise in people seeking treatment for ketamine use and of the particular risks associated with taking the drug in a festival environment.<\/p>\n
Electric Picnic will again host the HSE\u2019s harm-reduction service, where festival-goers can receive information about drugs and anonymously surrender substances for testing.<\/p>\n
Benn said festivals had to remain \u201cever vigilant\u201d about drug use.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrugs are just part and parcel of society now,\u201d Benn said.<\/p>\n
\n Melvin Benn picutred with Florence Road on the main stage at Electric Picnic. The Journal<\/p>\n
The Journal\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of people gathered in the same place, and if we can work with the HSE to get over key messaging about drugs, which is what we try to do, whether it\u2019s key messaging about drugs here at the Picnic or elsewhere, it\u2019s all part and parcel of society now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benn said his hope was that people would not take illegal drugs, but added that those who chose to do so should \u201cdo so responsibly\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
Teen ban \u2018not something I\u2019ve even considered changing\u2019<\/p>\n
Benn also ruled out any reversal of Electric Picnic\u2019s controversial policy preventing teenagers aged between 13 and 17 from attending the festival.<\/p>\n
Children aged 12 and under can attend when accompanied by a parent or guardian, but those aged between 13 and 17 are not permitted entry.<\/p>\n
Asked by The Journal whether he would ever consider lifting the restriction, Benn said: \u201cNo, not at EP.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re really happy with the 18-year-old kick-off, actually, and, you know, it\u2019s how we started at the Picnic as an 18s and over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just very happy with it. And I think it\u2019s just not something that I\u2019ve even considered changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benn was similarly unmoved by calls for Electric Picnic to announce its line-up before tickets for the festival go on sale.<\/p>\n
Tickets for the 2027 festival are due to go on sale next Tuesday, just two days after this year\u2019s event finishes.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he would consider returning to announcing the line-up before tickets are sold, Benn replied: \u201cNo, no, we\u2019re very happy with the process that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIf you were hoping to find out the line-up for Electric Picnic 2027 before tickets go on sale next week, that won\u2019t be the case.<\/p>\n
Festival organiser Melvin Benn has said the line-up is \u201cin good shape\u201d, he added that it\u2019s \u201ctoo early\u201d to confirm who will be on the bill. pic.twitter.com\/Bh7flfRYHi<\/a><\/p>\n