An Edmonton man with an extreme allergy to nuts says he was forced to hand over his EpiPen at a concert last week.

Ira Sherr said he was going to a techno concert at the Edmonton Events Centre last week when he was told by security that he could only enter the venue if he handed over his EpiPen — a pre-filled, single-use device that injects epinephrine for the emergency treatment of severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.

"When I emptied my pockets to do the pat down, the security guard informed me that I couldn’t take my EpiPen with me," Sherr said.

The drug applicator provides an injection of epinehrine in case of a severe allergic reaction. (Stock)

He tried to explain that the drug applicator, about the size of a marker-pen, was vital in case he had any allergic reaction.

"The outcome of a reaction could be really serious — I mean, anaphylaxis, you could potentially die," he said.

Sherr said he handed over the medication, but he was confused because he had never been asked — even by airport security — to ever hand it over before.

Although he got the EpiPen back after the concert, Sherr said he remains skeptical about the venue's policy.

"Part of me can understand the argument … if you start letting people in with prescription drugs in, then it's very easy to masquerade narcotics as prescriptions," he said.

"However, I think that in a few cases, for people like me who need life-saving drugs — as long as they don't advertise the policy — I don't think it would be very detrimental."

No one from the Edmonton Event Centre was available for comment.