BAN WON'T STOP RAVES, U.S. DRUG EXPERT SAYS

Allen Ho Inquest

An outright ban is not an effective way to regulate raves, according
to a U.S. drug enforcement expert.

"You can't make it go away by just saying, 'No more raves.' That's not
the solution," said Trinka Porrata, a former Los Angeles police
officer who has helped create rave-control legislation in some areas
of the United States.

Ms. Porrata testified yesterday at the Allen Ho inquest, which is
examining the death of the 20-year-old student who collapsed at an
all-night party last October. Other witnesses have warned against
outlawing the events, but yesterday was the first time that opinion
was reinforced by a police expert.

Under questioning from coroner's counsel Paul McDermott, Ms. Porrata
said that ending the parties at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. has also not proved
to be a good idea. Such measures just mean people drive home while
under the influence of drugs, she said, which has caused deaths in the
U.S. Instead, she recommended that control efforts focus on training
security guards to recognize drug paraphernalia and perform better
searches, and on ensuring the guards really do try to keep drugs out.

(Items that can double as paraphernalia, for example, include
containers of eyewash and bubble-blowing soap, which can be used to
conceal GHB, the liquid form of Ecstasy.)

Searches aren't going to catch every single pill, Ms. Porrata
explained, so it's also necessary to concentrate on targeting dealers
through undercover operations. "The biggest focus needs to be on sales
inside and in the parking lot as opposed to individual possession,"
she said.

Then, she said, there needs to be a decision made about what security
guards should do when they find people in line with a couple of pills.
The guards' options -- which range from seizing drugs to making
citizens' arrests -- have been a controversial subject throughout the
inquest.

(Mr. McDermott has argued guards should always make citizens' arrests,
but a security expert has said that can be dangerous, and that police
can't always send officers to deal with a small number of pills.)

Mr. Ho attended a rave at an underground parking garage in the city's
west end, and died in hospital the next day. It's not possible to
determine how many Ecstasy pills he took. Of the 13 Ecstasy-related
deaths in Ontario since 1998, only three have had any connection with
raves.

Toronto police Detective Howard Page, who ran undercover operations at
three large events on the CNE grounds between February and April, also
told the jury yesterday that shortening raves would not be helpful,
because dealers would just change their hours.

Det. Page did say that smaller raves -- with 3,000 or 4,000 attendees
as opposed to the largest CNE party, which had 12,000 guests -- would
make things safer and more manageable for undercover officers. With
enough officers, he said, arrests at the CNE events "could have been
unlimited."