FEAR OF DRUGS DRIVES SUSPICION OF TEENAGE RAVES

Maybe it's the name.Rave:1a) to talk deliriously as if in delirium. b) to
declaim wildly, c)to talk with extreme enthusiasm. definitely sounds out of
control.

Whatever the reason, the idea of a few thousand young people
gathering in the dark to dance the night away sure does scare people.

Toronto council has banned all raves in city facilities until August
while it ponders its new police chief's ban the raves stance.

Victoria police don't much like raves either, and will be out in force
(at the expense of the promoter) at tomorrow night's rave in Memorial
Arena, the seventh of that venue.

An Ottawa city councilor has rather dramatically compared raves to a
game of Russian Roulette in which someone is bound to turn up dead,
and a politician in Ontario government has gone so far as to make a
reefer madness style video for school use after going to a rave and
finding " everything was painted black, the floor, the ceilings, the
wall."

So what goes on at raves? People dance, usually in a very dark room
with strobing lights to music with a strong, fast beat and no lyrics.
The crowd is often young - there is no age limit on who can attend a
rave - the dancing goes on all night, and violent behavior is almost
unheard of.

Unfortunately "rave" has become synonymous with "drug-fueled frenzy"
in many people's minds. "I expect it's a given that a rave is a place
for young people to get together to do Ecstasy", says one local mom
who wants the rave scene shut down.

And so it turns out that our fear of raves is actually a fear of
drugs, legitimate enough, but no something that is addressed by an end
to the dancing.

Victoria council took a tough look a couple of years ago at the
subject of raves in city facilities and voted to back off as long as
promoters followed rules and regulations to keep the events safe and
secure.

Conc.. Helen Hughes doesn't like the drugs that inevitably turn up at
raves, but figures it's better to have kids taking their risks in a
relatively safe setting where they can get help if things go wrong.

And they can. Long hours of dancing, combined with the heavy sweating
brought on by Ecstasy, a once respectable "acute anti-depressant"
developed in 1914 and usurped by ravers in the 1980's can leave some
users literally of thirst. if the cough suppressant dextromethorpahan
(DXM) has been mixed with Ecstasy as it often is, it prevents sweating
but in turn puts users at risk of fatal overheating.

GHB, originally a sleep aid, is a bad mix with alcohol and easy to
overdose on because it's effect aren't felt for up to an hour after
it's taken. Ketamine, an anesthetic now mostly used by veterinarians,
is obviously dangerous in high doses, and psychologically addictive.

And then there's all the stuff that isn't known, like what's really in
that pill you just bought. Most of what gets sold as Ecstasy is in
fact cut with other substances; the lab stuff at www.dancesafe.com has
come across dog-worming medicine, caffeine, , PCP, benadryl, and
ephedrine being sold as pure Ecstasy.

Promoters always try to keep the drugs out - there will be 70 security
personnel and fifteen or so police at tomorrow's rave, frisking
everyone who comes in. but for those they miss, at least there will be
plenty of drinking water and first aid attendants. Safe beats sorry.

Arena manager Murray Thomas says he'd rather host a rave than n a rock
concert any day, given that rockers often"wind it up" before the show
on alcohol before the show and violent incidents are more common.

He notes that an inquest into the dehydration death of a you Toronto
raver concluded last month that raves should be made safer but not
prohibited.

"The ones who come to raves, they're good kids,"says Thomas. I've been
to all seven. I've watched those kids wander around, and there's no
way that they're all on drugs. A lot of them are just high on the
thought of staying up all night dancing."

If the rave scene still has you worried, surprise you teenager and go
with them to one.

No reason the kids should have all the fun.