‘Why I’ve changed my mind’: A grieving mother calls for pill testing at Rainbow Serpent festival

The mother of a young man who died at Rainbow Serpent festival in 2012, and initially called for the festival to be cancelled, has penned an open letter to young people, urging them to take care of themselves.

Adriana Buccianti, mother of Daniel, told Neil Mitchell she is now an active advocate for pill testing, so her son’s death isn’t completely in vain.

“When Daniel first died, I think grief makes you do all sorts of awful things,” she said.

“I did call for the festival to be closed.

“Then I was approached and we had a long talk and I thought I could reach 6000 people and say look after yourself.

“The reality is Daniel did the wrong thing.

“All drugs are bad, let’s be realistic.

“However, whilst we still have music festivals, I think people have the right to know what’s in them.

“And if there had have been a service back then, he would have used it because I can tell you no one wants to come out of there in a body bag, much less my son.

“There’s no way Daniel would have wanted the constant heartache this has caused.”

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“We need to do something different, why do we have a third world mentality on drug reform, I don’t get it,” she said.

“At the end of the day it’s up to the individual, but the individual may not make the right decision, hence this is what we need.”

Image: Adriana Buccianti