PROMOTERS' PLAN FOR DRUG CRACKDOWN GETS RAVE REVIEWS

Police Welcome Help In Cleaning Up All-Night Dance Parties

Angered by drug use at raves -- all-night teen dance parties -- and fearing
a police crackdown, some Houston rave promoters are determined to stamp out
drugs at the popular events.

Kelly McCann of S.D.C., one of Houston's most active rave promotion
companies, said 12 promoters are working together to establish a "long
overdue" association to help police battle drug use and other illegal
activities at the mega-parties.

If raves continue to be drug dens, promoters fear attendance will drop and
they'll lose money or the Houston Police Department might shut down the events.

"As a promoter, I will do anything to save my scene," said Albert Rowan,
32, a Houston promoter who supports the fledgling association.

Sgt. Nick Nichols of HPD's narcotics unit said police welcome the
promoters' plan to tackle drug use at raves. The department does not want
to shut down raves but does want them to be safe, Nichols said.

"The department is not going to close anybody down and take money from
anybody's pocket," Nichols said.

Nichols added that not all raves include drug use.

Two of the association's aims will be to restrict raves to people who are
18 years old or older and to prohibit rave patrons from entering parties
with pacifiers or surgical masks, considered rave drug paraphernalia by law
enforcement officials.

The association also expects to beef up security, encouraging officers to
patrol outside as well as inside rave venues. Promoters contract with
off-duty HPD officers to provide security for raves.

Currently, all patrons are searched by rave staff before they enter the
parties. Backpacks, water bottles and other containers are prohibited
inside venues, but some ravers are savvy drug smugglers, promoters say.

Ecstasy, or X, a hybrid of amphetamine and a mild hallucinogenic, is the
most widely used rave drug.

Ecstasy promotes a sense of euphoria, heightening sensitivity and awareness
and a need for constant auditory and visual stimulation, such as loud music
and laser lights commonly found at raves, said David Gauvin, a drug science
expert with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Like amphetamines, X allows users to overcome natural body exhaustion and
dance for hours, Gauvin added.

Unsavory side effects include chronic teeth-grinding because the drug
tightens the users' jaw muscles. Many ravers suck constantly on pacifiers
to loosen their jaws. The drug also expands the bronchi, enhancing users'
sensations from inhalants, such as Vicks Vapor Rub, Gauvin said. Many X
users smear Vicks inside surgical masks and wear them while they are
"rolling" under the influence of ecstasy.

The drug also dehydrates users, making them crave water. In high doses, X
can cause heart attacks.

"Myth No. 1 is that ecstasy is safe," Gauvin said.

Of the 171 people arrested at raves during a four-month period last spring
and summer, more than 50 percent were arrested for possession or delivery
of ecstasy, said Kevin Sayre of HPD's D.A.R.E. program. About 70 percent of
those people arrested for ecstasy-related crimes were between 16 and 21
years old, Sayre added.

Not all people who attend raves use drugs, Sayre said. He added that he
soon might include education about drug use at raves in the D.A.R.E. program.

Troubled that drug use at raves distracts attention from talented rave disc
jockeys, Cheyne Maclaskey, 19, of Montgomery and two friends founded
Andromedia, a company that promotes drug-free raves. If her firm can weed
out drug users, rave DJs will get the acclaim they deserve, she said.

The company's first drug-free rave Dec. 1 attracted nearly 450 people and
encouraged the owners to schedule more, Maclaskey said.

Maclaskey said she and thousands of other people are drawn to raves for the
music.

Rave music, which includes trance, techno, club and house, is created by
mixing sound electronically in the same way that a recording engineer
creates music in a recording studio. Musical tracks are melded together,
creating a composite of sound.

Unlike musicians playing traditional instruments, such as guitars or drums,
rave DJs scratch records on turntables or combine rhythms electronically
with a mixing board.

"It's just amazing, their talent," Maclaskey said.

Some local DJs earn about $150 to $300 to perform. Rowan said he charges
between $600 and $1,000 to work at a party. Some of the most popular,
nationally known DJs can command as much as $45,000 a night.

Average raves cost between $30,000 and $50,000. More elaborate raves can
cost as much as $150,000.

"For some people, raves are associated with drugs," Maclaskey said. "For a
lot of us, we see raves as beautiful music."