GROUP AT RAVES TO TEACH ABOUT DANGER OF DRUG USE

SAN FRANCISCO -- DanceSafe, a group that sends volunteers to raves
across the country to test pills for purity and dispense information
about party drugs, is making waves among law enforcement and anti-drug
officials.

Members of DanceSafe, founded last year by Emanuel Sferios, a
30-year-old graduate student and former social worker, say they are
educating young people about drugs and their dangers more effectively
than the antidrug rhetoric preached in schools and commercials.

Armed with information on drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines and GHB,
DanceSafe volunteers set up tables at raves and dance parties, answer
questions and test pills sold as the illegal drug "ecstasy" to
ensure they are not poison.

The group, largely funded by dot-com entrepreneurs, currently has
chapters in Portland, Ore., Vancouver, British Columbia, Orlando,
Fla., Pittsburgh, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles and New Mexico.

"They're helping people do something illegal," San Francisco police
narcotics officer John Keane told the San Francisco Chronicle for a
story Friday. "I don't want to see anyone die from something they
took without knowing what it was, but they are facilitating drug use."