ALL THE RAVE

Rave Culture Has Raised Controversy Since Its Conception.

Spawned in the late 1980s from the hordes of disenfranchised fringe
dwellers in Thatcher's England, Rave culture has grown to become globally
one of the most far-reaching cultural movements of a generation.

The rave scene is characterised by colorful costuming, vibrant decor, live
performance, sculptural art, high-tech projection gedgetry, a general sense
of unity.

There is nothing to compare with the feeling of dancing all night with
several thousand people, in the middle of the bush, with the music chiming
out like a heartbeat, the laser lights and installation art spread
throughout the forest in every direction, the moon and stars hanging
overhead as the ultimate light-show, and each face meeting yours with a
smile of recognition and warmth.

Yet, increasingly with every new media report of the perils of raves, the
public understanding of the culture is skewed.

So far, we have had two reported tragedies of ecstasyrelated deaths in
Australia, that of schoolgirl Anna Woods in 1997 and the more recent
incident where a 26yearold man died at the Happy Valley party close to
Sydney. There were some 6000 people at the Happy Valley festival last
month; St John Ambulance officers reported only six drugrelated incidents.

Since Happy Valley, the Australian media has returned its gaze on the issue
of ecstasy and rave parties. "Crazy new ecstasy drug could kill, experts
warn", proclaimed Sydney's Sunday Telegraph (27February); The Sydney
Morning Herald (22February) chipped in an editorial with a Mansonesque
proclamation, turning Happy Valley into the "Valley of Death", while The
Age ran the frontpage headline on Saturday (19February) "On the pills with
Generation E".

Let's look at the statistics around ecstasy use. The most recent National
Drug Strategy Household Survey shows that 4.7 per cent of Australians over
the age of 14 have tried ecstasy (or methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA,
to give it its tonguetwister scientific name) compared with 89.6 per cent
for alcohol, 65.4 per cent for tobacco and 39.3 per cent for cannabis. And
in 1997, the statistics show tobacco caused 18,200 deaths, alcohol 3700 and
illicit drugs 800.

Susan Sawyer, deputy director of the Centre for Adolescent Health at the
Royal Children's Hospital, says she has never seen an adolescent presenting
to her centre with an ecstasyrelated condition.

"We have large numbers of young people presenting with overdoses from other
drugs such as alcohol. I'm on ward service regularly and, I must say, I
can't remember a single case of kids coming in with an ecstasyrelated
condition or kids collapsing at rave parties," Sawyer says.

The centre has recently formed a media working group with the aim of
promoting a positive image of young people in the media and refuting the
negative coverage young people often receive, basing comments on the best
available research and medical information.

"Let's look at our own use of alcohol and cigarettes. We, as adults, are
far less frequently victimised or judged on our behavior compared to young
people," Sawyer comments.

Yet, ecstasy's neurotoxicity has been described as "worrying" by some
medical authorities. The French National Health and Medical Research
Institute (Inserm) recently reported that "in 14 people whose brains were
explored with a positron camera, there was a 30 per cent diminution in
serotonin nerve endings".

The formula for producing the drug can easily be found on the Internet.
Anyone with a little knowledge of chemistry and pillmaking apparatus can
turn out a pill a minute. A significant danger of ecstasy consumption,
therefore, is that the customer never really knows what they're getting.

In a recent study of 95 different ecstasy tablets by French medical
authorities, 40 per cent were found to contain medicines including
antimalarials and tranquillisers; 25 per cent contained MDMA in varying
proportions, often mixed with amphetamines or opiates; and the remainder
contained other psychotropic substances.

Clearly, there is good reason to be concerned about the dangers of ecstasy
usage. This is a point that most people involved in the rave scene will
agree on.

Reverend Simon Rumble, a prominent DJ and rave organiser who was involved
in organising the Happy Valley party, agrees.

"What is a concern is the abandon some members of the scene show when
taking drugs. There is a certain element of the great Aussie macho coming
out with some people. While ordinarily this might mean, `I can drink more
beers than you', at a rave it becomes, `I've taken more pills than you'."

The current Federal Government advertising campaign to stop bingedrinking
shows the right way to tackle this problem. "`Just say no', isn't fooling
anybody. `How much is enough', is a far more sensible approach," Rumble
suggests.

The problem, say some, is that the media's treatment of the issue has led
to the incorrect assumption that everyone at raves is on ecstasy and that
there's nothing more to say about the culture.

"The media can't help but editorialise about raves - because our scene
offers too many opportunities for trashy copy," says Stuart Ridley, a
Sydneybased DJ and party organiser. He is also part of a team putting
together the techno discussion/info web site Spraci. (www.spraci.com)

"We have hedonism, free will, intense music and weird tribal markings. We
celebrate the fact we haven't settled down and our culture thrives when
it's not confined to established entertainment areas (which are heavily
taxed/heavily legislated for consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and
gambling). We have all the things rock 'n' roll had that used to piss off
our parents' parents: sex, drugs and loud music - it's almost the older
generation's responsibility to be horrified by our youthful energy and
edginess," he says.

Ridley tells of his entry into the rave scene in this way: "At my first
party, there were sevenfoot drag queens, yuppies, cyberpunks and cartoon
characters - all dancing to music that affected us emotionally, spiritually
and psychologically."

Raves are increasingly moving away from the city and setting up in outdoor
forest or beach settings. One criticism that has been levelled at these
parties, often by party participants themselves, is the damage or
disruption bush parties may be causing to the natural environment.

One local rave crew, called TrancePlant, in consultation with Land Care,
has begun incorporating treeplanting sessions into their parties. Young
people at these events have planted up to 30,000 trees during the day
before cranking up the speaker stacks come nightfall.

Paul Speirs is a farmer and community treeplanting organiser, based in
southeastern Victoria, who has been involved in the TrancePlant events
since their conception 18 months ago when he was contacted by TrancePlant
organisers.

"There is so much to be done in Victoria that we need some of those
threeandahalfmillion people in Melbourne to help out. We need fit young
people. That's why I think if Land Care and individual farmers keep
providing good sites, there's no reason why you couldn't get a 1000 people
to turn up and plant 30,000 trees. It's never too much hard work. If people
can dance all night, they can surely plant a few trees," Speirs says.

"With the tree planting and Land Care side of it, you get people out to do
something worthwhile. With the rave aspect, people just have a good time.

"There are no negatives."