FEW DRUG ARRESTS AT RAVE

In the parking lot outside of a Greenville nightclub Friday night, it was a
battle of wills from the beginning.

There were the law enforcement officers who, with their 57 uniformed and
undercover deputies, a drug-sniffing dog and a looming helicopter, were out
to curb the drug use they say is associated with all-night dance parties,
otherwise known as raves.

Then there were the kids, many not much older than 18, dressed in bright
colors and loose pants who say their desire and right to dance were being
trampled on by misconceptions and an overzealous police operation. By the
time the sun started to rise early Saturday morning outside of The Tomb on
Cedar Lane Road, about 50 people were arrested for offenses such as
disorderly conduct and ticketed for having a headlight out, according to
Greenville County Sheriff Capt. Bruce Cannon.

The State Law Enforcement Division charged the club with permitting
consumption of liquor by non-members and permitting consumption of liquor
after-hours, according to Cannon and SLED officials.

But unlike a rave bust at the Carolina Metroplex three weeks ago, there
were few drug arrests, Cannon said.

The stage Friday night had been set once news got out that the Sheriff's
Office arrested more than 70 people during that all-night dance party.

Since then, a county councilman announced he would urge his colleagues to
consider an ordinance discouraging or altogether prohibiting the dance parties.

Sheriff Sam Simmons no longer allowed his deputies to work side jobs at
rave parties and announced that Greenville would not be a rave-friendly county.

Three hours before the event, the six o'clock news ran a story on how the
Sheriff's Office would be out at The Tomb in full force.

"We weren't hiding what we were trying to do," Cannon said. "Like the
Sheriff said we want to make it an unfriendly environment for drugs."

Mikey Zaglin, CEO for Klymactik Entertainment which promoted Friday night's
show, said the police operation dramatically reduced the number of people
who attended but said that he was encouraged that most of the 300 people
who attended were drug-free.

"I know that if they harassed rock concerts or hip-hop concerts they'd have
just as many, if not more, arrests," he said. "I just believe we're the new
generation, the underground. They're scared of us so they're going to try
to knock us down."

Anyone driving around the club Friday night didn't have to pull into the
parking lot to see the police presence. Deputies' patrol cars were on both
sides of the roads after having pulled cars over for traffic violations.

At 2:45 a.m., about 15 deputies walked through the club searching for
drugs. They pulled out one man who was shaking and sweating and put him in
an ambulance. Another man was pulled out and put into the back of a police car.

The reaction of the dancers was mixed. Many said they were happy to have
police around, looking for drugs. Others said they felt that they were
unfairly targeted.

"This is our release, this is the way we can let our frustrations out
because we go to school during the week, we go to work during the week,"
said Clemson student Shannon Simet, 21. "It makes us happy. This is the way
we like to have a little bit of fun and a little bit of happiness and if
you take that away from the kids then what else do we have to look for?"

Jeph Caulder, 21, of Charlotte was searched by undercover officers after he
left the club momentarily to get his camera and a flashlight out of his
friend's car. He was let go after officers used a dog to smell around his
vehicle.

"They're going beyond what they should be doing and what they're legally
allowed to do," he said. "If I was doing something or I looked suspicious I
could understand someone searching me. They're cracking down on drugs -
that's they're job. But when they see me with a camera and a flashlight I
feel that's really messed up."

The Sheriff's Office was searching for drugs like ecstasy, GHB and other
schedule 1 narcotics that have been labeled "club drugs."

"We're not here to interdict in the legitimate club activity," Cannon said.
"But we're not going to tolerate the ecstasy and the impaired drivers that
are going to be out here on ecstasy or alcohol.

Police say that anyone who isn't doing anything illegal has nothing to
worry about.

But those closely associated with the scene say the majority of the people
who go are clean but suffer because of the few who do the drugs.

Nat Pizzonia, also known as MC Flipside, has performed across the country
and said the rave scene is being used as a scapegoat by communities who
don't understand it. He said the government, which has allowed drugs to
slip through the country's borders, shouldn't target club promoters who may
have inadvertently allowed drugs to slip inside the clubs.

Still, he and friend Steve Grey, also known as DJ Freaky Flow, said the
police response wasn't as bad as the treatment ravers have received in
other cities, such as Dayton where raves have been shut down for no
apparent reason.

"The police didn't really bother me at all," Pizzonia said. "I wouldn't
call it harassment."

In Toronto, he said, the city council and the raving community has worked
together to hold safe and responsible raves.

Participants say the music, the clothing and the dancing is all part of a
culture. Their credo is "Peace, Love, Unity, Respect", also known as PLUR.
Twenty-year-old Alicia Drugan of Florence has the acronym tattooed just
below her belt line. "It's what everyone in the world should live by,"
Drugan said. "All of us - ravers, party kids - we all like to have a good
time, period."