SPRINGFIELD – To increase patron safety at concert venues, State Senator Karina Villa moved a bill out of the Senate Public Health Committee on Tuesday to equip music venues with overdose-reversing medications. 

“People go to a music festival or concert to enjoy themselves — one bad decision should not cost them their life,” said Villa (D-West Chicago). “Whether someone consumes a harmful substance on purpose or accidentally, this bill will save lives by expanding first aid in concert halls to include treating overdose.”

House Bill 1557 requires for-profit music venues that have an occupancy of 1,000 or more to have opioid-overdose antidotes, such as naloxone, on hand and have staff members who are sufficiently trained in administrating it. This bill applies to music venues for live concerts or musical performances for which tickets are sold for entry.

Naloxone is used to reverse an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opiates on the brain and restoring breathing. Amphetamine and ecstasy are common “party drugs” used at concerts that could potentially be laced with opioids. Often, those attending a concert could consume a drug unaware of the harmful contents inside leading to possible overdose. This measure would equip venue staff with the resources and training needed to prevent concertgoers from overdosing.

“More often than not, it is young people who go to these concerts and are targeted by those handing out drugs, usually unaware of what exactly they are putting into their bodies,” Villa said. “We need to protect our young music lovers from the harmful or fatal effects of opioids.”

House Bill 1557 passed out of the Senate Public Health Committee on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.