MOST PARENTS CAUGHT UNAWARE OF RISING DRUG, 'RAVE CULTURE'

Adam and Eve, Special K and Vitamin K don't only refer to paradise and a
healthy breakfast anymore. These are also the names of some popular drugs
circulating in dance clubs and rave parties across the country. It’s common
knowledge for most teens, but not for their parents.

Although St. Johns County does not have a rave club, the popularity of the
rave culture is rising among young adults, said Patricia Greenough,
executive director of EPIC community Services in St. Augustine.

"Groups of kids travel to Jacksonville and Daytona to go into these clubs.
They go with no intention to use drugs, but they easily become involved,"
said Greenough.

The rave parties seem to be a wonderful chance for the kids to get together
and dance, because the parties appear to be harmless with their fuzzy
advertisements, said EPIC's community educator Teresa Andrews.

"But the subculture of rave parties is drugs," she said.

Greenough agreed.

"Rave parties are very trendy, however, not so innocent as they look," said
Greenough.

Andrews said kids are so used to vitamins that an innocent looking pill
does not seem so dangerous. For example, ecstacy is usually sold in the
form of a tablet and imprinted with an icon of alternative pop-culture.

Because the drugs are offered in nice looking surroundings, and not sold on
street corners, kids feel safe about the drugs, she said.

According to Greenough, most of those who are using drugs are between 15
and 18 years old. However, the age of kids who start experimenting with
drugs is getting younger. Some of the kids are 13 years old when they use
drugs for the first time.

"It is a trend that scares me," she said.

In partnership with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, EPIC Community
Services provides seminars about club drugs and rave clubs.

The purpose of the seminars is to bring awareness to parents.

"Parents need to know what is out there," said Andrews, who is one of the
speakers at the seminars.

Most parents don't know that kids use blow pops, water bottles, Vick's
vapor rub inhalers and pacifiers to either enhance the high, or to prevent
side effects.

The seminar offers tools parents can use to raise drug-free children, and
to get the dialog between parents and children about drugs started.
Community groups are invited to call EPIC to arrange a presentation on club
drugs.

"We really want to be a resource for people in the community who want more
information about club drugs," she said.

Substance abuse is not socially or economically related, it happens in many
different kinds of households, said Greenough.

EPIC, which stands for Education Prevention, Intervention and Counseling,
is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1973 in St. Augustine.

EPIC programs and services focus on issues associated with substance abuse
and related problem behaviors.

"Prevention is the heart of EPIC's mission. We focus on issues before they
become a problem," Greenough said.