CRACKDOWN ON RAVES

Should the Federal Government use an antidrug law aimed at crack houses to
clamp down on the use of illegal drugs at raves [SOCIETY, April 9]? If the
feds have their way, nightclub owners might be prosecuted whether or not
they were selling drugs if party animals are caught with stuff in the
house. Our story on the new legal tactic drew many snorts of derision. "The
government will have about as much success in curtailing the use of ecstasy
at raves as it did with alcohol in speakeasies during Prohibition," wrote
Phin MacDonald of Medford, Mass. "They are only encouraging the scene to
move back underground." Alicia Downard of Dallas thought it was "typical
drug-war absurdity to equate ecstasy with crack.

When was the last time you read about a drug-addicted mother who spent her
welfare check on ecstasy?" But Cheri Lucas of San Francisco thinks there is
a problem with the use of ecstasy, and she regretted that the focus on
drugs in clubs drew attention away from "the talented, responsible people
who created the rave movement. Skilled artists and producers provided the
music; promoters created great parties; performers and dancers kept the
energy alive on the dance floor. It was the people, not ecstasy, who first
made raves so intriguing and popular."