RAVES, DRUGS

Agony And Ecstasy Of What Your Kids Get Up To When They Party

It's 1 a.m. Saturday, and another rave party is just starting to build
momentum in Calgary.

Inside a small youth centre tucked in the city's northwest, a sea of kids
- -- some looking no older than 12 years old -- are dancing a frenzied stomp
to a lively, chest-rattling beat.

On the dance floor, a young girl moves trance-like to the beat, the letter
E spelled out on her stomach in small, glowing-red stickers, and a soother
clenched between her teeth.

This is a rave -- a party where kids of all ages come to "bump-n-grind" to
hectic music all night long. There is usually no alcohol served or allowed
and at this particular event, no smoking is permitted.

But the letter "E" emblazoned on the girl's stomach usually refers to a
mind-altering drug that has embedded itself so deeply into the rave culture
that the two have become synonymous.

Ecstasy is the drug de jour at these all-night dance parties that have hit
Calgary streets -- usually consumed by more than half of the bumping,
jostling revellers.

"It seems to be the most popular drug right now," says raver Alli, 18.

"Ninety-nine percent (of ravers) are on it," chimes her friend Adam, 18,
who has just popped a hit of Purple Hit E, one of the many different name
brands of the drug available.

"The others just can't afford it."

Ecstasy has become the party drug of the '90s, say ravers, as its effects
allow party-goers to dance all night, and is said to give users a sense of
extreme happiness and well-being.

"It's like your senses are heightened -- you hear, feel and see things on a
different level ... really happy and touchy," says David, 22.

"That's why you enjoy it more at raves. The only thing is that it costs too
much, which sucks," says the U of C student and two-year rave veteran.

The drug has become a multi-million-dollar business in cities like
Vancouver and Toronto, where last month police busted up a
$1.5-million-dollar-a-week Ecstasy organization.

The drug comes in two forms: pressed pill and powder, which is either
snorted through the nose or ingested.

The drug sells for anywhere between $15 and $40 per "hit" (one-tenth of a
gram) and its effects -- much like that of speed, a stimulant a lot more
popular years ago -- last up to six hours.

But Ecstasy can be dangerous.

The Toronto rave scene, where a party can attract up to 15,000 people, has
been put under intense scrutiny following three drug-related deaths at rave
parties over the summer.

A task force of fire, police and health officials is devising a strategy to
crack down on raves and the lucrative drug scene in Toronto, its city
officials announced earlier this month.

But local law enforcement officials say there is little cause for concern
about the drug in Calgary.

"Are there rave parties in Calgary? Yes," says Staff Sgt. Paul Laventure of
the Calgary Police Drug Unit.

"Have they been a cause for concern? No."

Laventure says that while Ecstasy is here, his unit hasn't received much
information regarding the drug, or raves in the city.

"We haven't encountered a lot of it (Ecstasy)," he says.

Taylor Attrell, counselling supervisor with the Alberta Alcohol/Drug
Commission, says that while he also hasn't seen much evidence of the drug,
we should be concerned.

"We're talking about a significant number of young people using it," he says.

"It's true our numbers don't indicate with our clients it's an issue, but
that doesn't mean it's not an issue in the city.

"You go to these raves and half the kids are on it ... we should be
concerned."

Ravers report horror stories of drug manufacturers cutting heroin and
crystal methamphetamine into the product, which poses an even deadlier
threat, says Attrell.

"The question is: 'Do they know what they're putting in their bodies?' " he
says.

Aside from feelings of mild intoxication and an increase in energy, medical
reports say the drug can cause blurred vision, increased sweating, blood
pressure and heart rate, and bruxism -- a grinding of the jaw and teeth.

Even short-term use of the drug can lead to heart failure and brain damage,
Attrell says.

"The best thing to do is make the public aware of its effects."

At the rave, the glow from black lights throughout the building cast a
wicked light on the 300-plus crowd, causing teeth and white clothing to
gleam with a burning brilliance.

The music is loud and hectic, and hundreds of sweating bodies writhe
hypnotically.

Ecstasy also dehydrates the body, and at this party, empty water bottles
litter the floor and sparkle from the hands of dancers.

"I think (raves) were designed for the drug," Adam says outside the club.

"Or the drug was designed for the raves."

In Calgary, up to 2,000 people will attend these all-night parties, usually
held Saturday nights in warehouses and clubs, the location of which is
revealed only on the day of the event to keep it "underground."

David says that while there is an abundance of Ecstasy in Calgary, that's
not what raves are about and the bad rap they have received is uncalled for.

"People just don't understand what parties are all about. Raves are
supposed to be a place to express yourself and hang out.

"People go to meet other people like them, and then a lot of people go for
the music. The drugs you can do anywhere."

Dan disagrees. "(Ecstasy is) why raves are so fun -- you go to the bar and
guys are fighting on the dance floor. At a rave, if you bump into somebody,
it's like: 'Hey, it's cool.' "

"You just love everybody on E," he says.