EDUCATE ABOUT DRUGS AND LET RAVE FANS DANCE

I was at the Zen Fest and would like to add a different perspective.
Raves are musical events where people go and party. The music is
intense, there is a plethora of positive energy. Everybody is dancing
and having fun. There is a culture there: dress, language, world view,
distinct dance styles and plenty of opportunity for expression. Raves
reflect on the future, a cyberworld whose beat patterns and polyrythms
combine and intertwine at the hands of a skilled DJ to create an
emotional soundscape to dance to.

Unfortunately, this is misunderstood. Drugs and the chaos that is
inherent in their presence is an undesireable side dffect of gathering
10,000-plus people together, anywhere, anytime. At any gathering of
this size, are 30 arrests abnormal? One dead and two unconcious at a
hotel after a marathon drug binge: Is this abnormal? Are raves to
blame for these problems or just a convenient scapegoat? Rather than
regulate raves, educate people about why taking a variety of
stimulants and depressants kill, and let me dance.

Mark Shirley