More Cow Palace Overdoses

Just five months after two deaths and several drug-related hospitalizations during a rave festival near San Francisco comes news of 17 hospitalizations during a recent Halloween festival.

Live 105’s Subsonic Halloween Spookfest featured numerous electronic acts and was open to concertgoers 16 and older at the state-owned Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif., Oct. 29.

The fest started at 6 p.m. and medics were called to the scene early in the evening to deal with concertgoers’ apparent overdoses of drugs and alcohol.

A spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Health System told the San Francisco Chronicle emergency services from three outside counties were requested to help San Mateo crews respond to calls from the event, which reportedly drew 14,000.

In May, two concertgoers died and many others were hospitalized for overdoses at the Pop 2010: The Dream festival at the Cow Palace. Police arrested about 75 people during that event for drug-related offenses.

State Sen. Leland Yee told the Chronicle he’s pushing to tighten regulations should the Department of Food and Agriculture that oversees the venue fail to develop higher standards.

“If the Cow Palace fails to immediately develop a policy to protect our community,” Yee said, “I am prepared to introduce legislation that would require them to provide an adequate police and medical presence before hosting these raves.”