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Drug use at Hard Summer rave pushes hospital ER to the limit

The pace is rarely slow at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center during the weekend.

But it was heart-poundingly faster when Live Nation Entertainment’s Hard Summer musical festival came into town, with ambulances transporting overdosing rave goers from the Los Angeles County fairgrounds to hospitals.

Dr. Bradford Hardesty saw one man so irate that he had to be sedated to keep him safe as well as the nurses and doctors. His heart rate was up more than 200 beats per minute — double the normal rate.

“It had taken multiple police officers to hold him down. It took almost five or six staff members here,” Hardesty said.