PRESENTATION READIES LOCAL RCMP FOR RAVE SCENE

Club drugs may not have fully descended on Fort St. John yet, but when they
do, RCMP will be ready.

Any recent rumblings of Fort St. John playing host to a rave presently
remain unfounded, but local police will have a better understanding of the
electronic music phenomena thanks to a presentation delivered by Cpl. Scott
Rintoul of RCMP Drug Awareness Vancouver, said local Sgt. Larry Flath.

"Our main objective in the whole process is safety to the general public,"
said Flath. "On behalf of the detachment, I would like to thank Corporal
Rintoul for speaking with us (Friday)."

Rintoul has been in attendance at over 70 rave parties, including the
Richmond, B.C. stop of internationally-known United Kingdom DJ Paul
Oakenfold. He tells of an autograph signed for him by world-class DJ Ann
Savage and of the hypnotic sound and lights one finds at a rave.

But Rintoul also tells of the horrors many of the drugs associated with the
rave and club scenes can bring, and the explosively dangerous combinations
found at a party.

"It's a real dog's breakfast, what's out there," said Rintoul.

While "club drugs" range from established drugs such as LSD or marijuana to
designer drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy) or methamphetamine (crystal meth,
jib) to even anesthetics such as ketamine (special k), all of the compounds
have been found to contain combinations that are different from what the
buyer believes them to be. Police have uncovered that dealers knowingly
sold PCP, Ketamine, DXM, MDA, MDE and Methamphetamine combinations as
ecstasy to unsuspecting buyers, said Rintoul.

"Kids will eat this stuff up without knowing what it is," said Rintoul,
adding, "If you want to stay alive, you never mix alcohol and these
chemical drugs."

While the origin of raves in Europe brought about the stereotypical
definition of a rave as being a drug-saturated event, Rintoul stressed that
not all ravers participate in drug use.

Besides, like it or not, raving and dance culture isn't going anywhere, he
said.

"It is the music of the millennium," said Rintoul. "Rave music is certainly
here for awhile."