THE STARK TRUTH

Six teens who took the mind-altering drug ecstasy collapsed during an
all-night dance party - called a "rave" - on the weekend. It's thought
that a strobe light show contributed to the seizures they had.

And other ravers The Sun spoke to admitted that drug use and drug
overdoses are not uncommon at raves.

Naturally, these disturbing stories have the usual suspects concerned.
Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith, who has attended several raves as a
learning experience, says he is going to raise safety issues with the
fire department.

Edmonton city councillor Robert Noce, who had already brought up
questions about raves with his fellow Northlands board directors
earlier this year, plans to bring the issue up again. He's worried
that next time, the consequences may be worse.

Their inclination to want to do something in the face of such
unnerving stories like these is natural. But get past the immediacy of
the event, and this is really a case of the more things changing, the
more things stay the same.

Because there's nothing new about kids and young adults taking
mind-altering drugs during huge parties. Just the names of the drugs
change. It used to be LSD. Now it's ecstasy - the "hug drug" which
causes feelings of euphoria, but can also cause epileptic fits, panic
attacks, psychosis, liver failure, hepatitis and heart problems.

Nor is there anything new about kids dropping out of mainstream
society and forming their own subculture. The all-night raves, with
their music and lights, have been likened to a sort of religious or
spiritual ritual for party-goers.

The raves do seem to bring a sense of belonging to those who attend.
One of the girls at the rave on the weekend told the paper that many
of the rave-goers there have no families, and the other people at the
raves are their families.

That might be slightly exaggerated, but given that experienced ravers
complain about 14-year-olds taking too many drugs at the parties, it
does make us wonder where the parents are, and if they know or care
what their kids are doing.

None of this is to say we should be casually dismissing the stories
which came out of this weekend's rave. Nor are we advocating that the
city council simply turn a blind eye to any illegal activities which
go on at these events.

But let's not kid ourselves into thinking that somehow we'll stop kids
from starting their own subculture and taking illegal mood-altering
drugs by having city council pass a bylaw.

Those are problems too deeply rooted in the mysteries of the human
condition to be tackled by city council.