Raves
High energy, all-night dance parties and clubs known as "raves," which
feature dance music with a fast, pounding beat and choreographed laser
shows, have become increasingly popular over the last ten years,
particularly among teenagers and young adults. Beginning as an underground
movement in Europe, raves have evolved into a highly organized,
commercialized, worldwide party culture. Rave parties and clubs are now
found throughout the United States and in countries around the world. Raves
are held either in permanent dance clubs or temporary venues set up for a
single weekend event in abandoned warehouses, open fields, empty building,
even the desert. Attendance can range from small numbers in clubs to tens
of thousands in a sport stadium or open field.
Raves are frequently advertised as "alcohol free" parties
with hired security personnel. Internet sites often advertise
these events as "safe" and "drug free." However, they are
dangerously overcrowded parties where your child can be exposed
to rampant drug use and a high-crime environment. Numerous
overdoses are documented as these events.
Raves are one of the most popular venues where club drugs are
distributed. Club drugs included MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB and
Rohypnol (also known as the "date rape" drugs), Ketamine,
Methamphetamine (Meth), and LSD. Because some club drugs are
colorless, odorless and tasteless, they can be added without
detection to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or
sedate others in order to commit sexual assaults.
Don't risk your child's health and safety. Ask questions
about where he or she is going and see it for yourself.
History
Raves evolved from 1980s dance parties, aided by the
emergence of European techno music and American house music.
European clubs that sponsored raves in the 1980s tried to limit
the exposure of attendees to the public and to law enforcement.
Raves were secretive, after-hours, private dance parties and
were often held in places where attendance was restricted to
invitees or friends of invitees. The site of the part was often
kept confidential, and invitees usually were not told the
location of the host club until the night of the party. Because
of the restricted access and the secrecy surrounding the
locations, the growing rave culture was often described as an
"underground" movement.
By the mid-1980s, rave parties overseas had developed such a
following among youths and young adults that by 1987, London
raves had outgrown most dance clubs. It then became common to
hold all-night raves -- which drew thousands of people -- in
large, open fields on the outskirts of the city. As the movement
continued to grow in the last 1980s, the first rave parties
emerged in U.S. cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Rave parties and clubs were present in most metropolitan
areas of the United States by the early 1990s. Teenagers
overtook the traditional young adult ravers and a new rave
culture emerged; events became highly promoted, heavily
commercialized, and less secretive. Many new U.S. rave promoters
were career criminals who recognized the profitability of
organizing events tailored to teens. Capitalizing on the growing
popularity of raves, specialized industries were developed to
market clothes, toys, drugs, and music. Private clubs and secret
locations were replaced by stadium venues with off-duty police
security.
By the late 1990s, raves in the United States had become so
commercialized that events were little more than an exploitation
of American youth. Today's raves are characterized by high
entrance fees, extensive drug use, exorbitantly priced bottled
water, very dark and often dangerously overcrowded dance floors,
and "chill rooms," where teenage ravers go to cool down and
often engage in open sexual activity. Moreover, many club owners
and promoters appear to promote the use of drugs -- especially
MDMA (Ecstasy). They provide bottled water and sports drinks to
manage hyperthermia and dehydration; pacifiers to prevent
involuntary teeth clenching; and menthol nasal inhalers,
chemical lights, and neon glow sticks to enhance the effects of
MDMA. In addition, rave promoters often print flyers featuring
prominent and repeated use of the letters "E" and "X" (E and X
are MDMA monikers) or the word "rollin'" (refers to an MDMA
high), surreptitiously promoting MDMA use along with the rave.
Rave music evolved from 1980s techno, house and New York garage
music. The mix of these different styles of dance music helped
mold the modern version of electronic rave music. Today, rave
music falls into several categories: ambient, techno, trance,
progressive trance, cybertrance, house, jungle, drum 'n' bass,
techstep, garage, and big beat.
Although a casual listener
may not be able to distinguish between techno and trance, ravers
know the music well, and several DJs and bands -- unfamiliar to
most people -- are internationally famous within the rave
community. Today's rave DJs are skilled stage performers and are
considered artists much like musicians. They mix electronic
sounds, beats, and rhythms, often synchronizing the music to a
laser program. Popular DJs sell their music and perform live at
the largest rave parties and clubs around the world. Rave
organizers announce their appearance of famous DJs on their
flyers and on the Internet to promote upcoming raves.
Rave Promotion
Despite the commercialization of raves through the 1990s,
many promoters have preserved the tradition of rave location
secrecy, more as a novelty than as a necessity. In this
tradition, raves are rarely promoted in open media but are
advertised on flyers found only at record stores and clothing
shops, at other rave parties and clubs, and on rave internet
sites. They flyers or Internet advertisements typically provide
only the name of the city where the rave will be held and a
phone number for additional information. The location of the
rave is often given to the caller over the telephone, but many
promoters further maintain secrecy by providing on a location,
called a "map point," where ravers go the night of the rave. At
the map point, ravers are told the actual location of the rave.
The map point is usually a record or clothing store within a
20-minute drive of the rave.
Raves and Club Drugs
While techno music and light shows are essential to raves,
drugs such as MDMA, Ketamine, GHB, Rohypnol, and LSD have become
an integral component of the rave culture. These drugs
collectively known as "club drugs" are an integral part of the
rave culture. Many ravers use club drugs and advocate their use,
wrongly believing that they are not harmful if they are used
"responsibly" and their effects are managed properly. Many of
the commercially designed rave clothes display pro-drug
messages, and rave posters and flyers often promote drug use.
Club drug use accounts for increasing numbers of drug
overdoses and emergency room visits. According to the Drug Abuse
Warning Network (DAWN), the number of emergency department (ED)
mentions for MDMA and GHB, often associated with the crime of
drug-facilitated rape, more than doubled between 1998 and 1999.
DAWN data for 1999 further indicate that young people are the
primary users of MDMA and GHB. For instance, whereas 29 percent
of all DAWN ED cases involved patients aged 25 and under, at
least 80 percent of Ketamine, LSD, MDMA, and Rohypnol ED
mentions and 59 percent of GHB ED mentions were aged 25 and
under.
MDMA is unquestionably the most popular of the club drugs,
and evidence of MDMA use by teenagers can be seen at most rave
parties. Ketamine and GHB are also used at raves, as is
Rohypnol, although to a lesser extent. A recent resurgence in
the availability and use of some hallucinogens -- LSD, PCP
(phencyclidine), psilocybin, and peyote or mescaline -- has also
been noted at raves and dance clubs and may necessitate their
inclusion in the club drug category. Inhalants like nitrous
oxide are sometimes found at rave events; nitrous oxide is sold
in gas-filled balloons called "whippets" for $5 to $10.
Rampant use of club drugs at raves may be leading to the use
of other and highly addictive drugs by youth. There have been
widespread reports of increasing availability and use of Asian
methamphetamine tablets (frequently referred to as "yaba") at
California raves and nightclubs. Heroin is being encountered
more frequently in the eastern United States. A wider variety of
visually appealing and easy-to-administer forms of MDMA, LSD,
heroin, and combination tablets are also found at raves and on
college campuses.
Rave Clothing and Pharaphernalia
Many young ravers wear distinctive clothing and carry
paraphernalia commonly associated with club drug use and the
rave culture. Ravers dress for comfort. They usually wear
lightweight, loose-fitting clothes and dress in layers, allowing
them to remove clothing as they become overheated from dancing
for hours. Many wear loose shorts or very wide-legged or baggy
pants. Ravers wear T-shirts, bikini tops, tank tops, tube tops,
and open-back halter tops to help keep cool. After hours of
dancing and often after using MDMA -- which elevates body
temperature -- many ravers have removed most of their clothing.
Some ravers, especially females, wear costumes to rave events,
dressing as princesses, cartoon characters, or other fantasy
figures that match the theme of the rave (e.g., futuristic,
space, mystic).
Ravers often wear bright accessories like
bracelets, necklaces, and earrings made of either plastic beads
or pill-shaped sugar candies. MDMA users sometimes use these
accessories to disguise their drugs, stringing MDMA tablets
mixed with the candies. Many ravers chew on baby pacifiers or
lollipops to offset the effects of involuntary teeth grinding
caused by MDMA. Pacifiers are worn around the user's neck, often
on plastic beaded necklaces.
Many people bring various items
to rave events to enhance the effects of MDMA. Ravers use bright
chemical lights and flashing lights to heighten the
hallucinogenic properties of MDMA and the visual distortions
brought on by its use. Chemical glow sticks, bracelets, and
necklaces are commonly worn at raves and waved in the eyes of
MDMA users for visual stimulus. Ravers often insert flashing red
lights in their belly buttons (held in place with a mild
adhesive) and pin blinking lights in the shape of hearts, stars,
and animals to their clothing to provide additional visual
stimulation to MDMA users. Ravers that use MDMA often wear
painter's masks with menthol vapor rub applied to the inside of
the mask. MDMA users believe that by inhaling the menthol fumes,
they are enhancing the effects of the drug. They may be adding
to their risk of hyperthermia, however, because the fumes cause
eyes and nasal passages to dry out.
Anti-Rave
Initiatives
In the late 1990s, many communities began attempts to reduce
the number of raves in their areas and to curb the use of club
drugs. Several cities passed new ordinances designed to regulate
rave activity, while others began enforcing existing laws that
helped authorities monitor raves more closely.
Cities such as Chicago, Denver, Gainesville, Hartford,
Milwaukee, and New York took deliberate steps to combat raves.
These cities reduced rave activity through enforcement of
juvenile curfews, fire codes, health and safety ordinances,
liquor laws, and licensing requirements for large public
gatherings. Many communities also began requiring rave promoters
to retain, at the promoters' expense, onsite ambulance and
emergency medical services and uniformed police security for
large rave events. Because of these measures, many rave
promoters and organizers moved their operations to other areas.
Information provided by the
United States Department of
Justice National Drug Intelligence Center and the
Maricopa County
Attorney General's Office.