RAVE REVIEWS ARE MIXED NOW

Some complain that wild all-night parties have become more about money,
clothes and drugs than peace, love, unity and respect

GETTIN' JIGGY: Ravers prefer house, techno, trance and drum-and-bass music.
Fernanda, right, is wide-eyed with excitement.

It's 4 a.m.

While most of the city sleeps, hundreds of anonymous figures reel in
oscillating sensations of super woofers, dazzling light shows and
exhilaration.

Welcome to the world of raves.

In the pulse of strobe lights, you can catch glimpses of the latest trends
in rave fashion: Snug, Geek Boutique, pornstar, Kikwear, buggirl. You can
almost lose yourself in the textures and colours of fun fur, tinted shades,
sparkles, trailing glow sticks and dancing bubble shoes.

The party peaks in the early hours of dawn, synchronizing under the magic
of the deejay. The energy is soaring and seemingly endless. Only when the
sun is high will the ravers make their hooded exit.

Over the past 10 years this scene has emerged from its origins in
underground clubs and abandoned buildings to cut into mainstream culture
like a knife. These days, the parties often take place in above-ground
venues such as Toronto's International Centre and buildings at Exhibition
Place, as well as in licensed clubs and community centres. But, according
to many ravers, the once irresistible, friendly atmosphere of rave culture
has started to disintegrate.

``They (raves) used to be a big family of friends partying together, having
fun. But now they're all about clothes, money and cheap drugs,'' says
Karen, an 18-year old woman who deals ``crystal'' (crystal
methamphetamine), a drug that some people do at raves.

``Take Freakin' (a recent rave) held at the Automotive Building (Exhibition
Place),'' she says. ``The promoters only cared about getting 9,000 people
into one building and it was hot, dark and crowded. People can't have fun
when they're in an environment like that, especially when they're high.''

J, a 21-year-old artist and fellow raver, shares this sentiment. ``The
vibe, the music and the people are changing. The trend used to be peace,
love, unity and respect. Now it's clothes, money and drugs.''

It should be said that many people choose to go to raves straight, but some
do take drugs there.

``When you start raving, you do `e' (ecstasy) and you would never do
crystal,'' says Theresa, who is also a vendor of rave drugs. ``You're
sociable and happy and when you come down from the `e' your brain might be
mush, but at least you can sleep. Then you start doing crystal and
crystal's not like that. Crystal changes people.''

These changes can be dramatic. Theresa's raccoon eyes, stick figure and
slurred voice are a testament to that.

``I'm addicted to crystal,'' Theresa continues, plucking at her eyebrows
and fidgeting nervously. ``Everyone who does crystal is addicted.''
(Although that's an exaggeration, many do become addicted to the powerful
stimulant.)

Theresa admits that crystal is causing problems in her life, but she
continues to go to raves and clubs to deal the crystal and `e' that support
her lifestyle.

``I want to stop raving in a few years because of all the dangers. But
right now I am having fun,'' she says.

Wilkie Wilson, co-author of Buzzed: The Straight Dope About The Most Used
And Abused Drugs From Alcohol To Ecstasy (W.W. Norton, $19.99) says that
youth should learn more about drugs before making decisions that may have
long-term effects.

``The drug scene . . . is full of misinformation that can lead people to
make bad choices,'' says Wilson, a professor of pharmacology at Duke
University Medical Centre. ``The drugs that are available at raves are
among the most powerful brain-altering agents in existence, (some) of which
have been abandoned as safe and useful medicines, so taking them without
understanding them can be very unhealthy.''

Of the thousands of chemicals and drug cocktails available at raves,
currently popular ones are ecstasy, crystal, special K (ketamine
hydrochloride), PCP (phencyclidine), GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid) and
marijuana.

The scene is ``dirty'' now, J says. ``The drugs used to be a lot cleaner.
Ecstasy used to be just MDMA. Now `e' is cut with synthetic heroin, crystal
and PCP. The worst of the lot is PCP.''

Wilson agrees. ``PCP is a bad drug that acts like three drugs in one: a
painkiller, a stimulant and a drug that makes people dissociated from
reality. What's more, the newest research suggests that it kills brain
cells in a part of the brain that helps people stay focused and motivated.

``There's a similar problem with ecstasy. It (works) in the same place as
Prozac, but differently, and after a number of uses, it kills off parts of
the cells . . .

``Crystal has similar problems in other parts of the brain. People need to
know that there might be life-long consequences to using them repeatedly.''

What is it that draws youth to the rave scene? According to Kat, 15, music
plays a key role. She says that after ingesting drugs, the strong beat and
``trippy'' music samples ``take you away from the world.''

Kat initially believed raves were ``stupid places'' where people went to
destroy their lives. However, after her sister died, she went to her first
rave, dropped her first tablet of `e' and never looked back.

Once, after a long night of raving, Kat called her friend to say, ``My
sister came for me last night and we flew to a beach where she told me that
I was forgiven. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it happened.''

This is not to say all ravers are drug users. And not all of those who do
chose chemicals are out-of-control abusers. For Ken, a 15-year-old high
school student, raves are a social experience where people talk and get to
know each other, an atmosphere without the typical social taboos usually
present in dance clubs.

``Everyone's so nice there.'' he says. ``I like the music and it's so much
fun because everyone's on `e' and it makes them so happy and friendly.
Everyone's your best friend.''

Will, a responsible 17-year-old student, went to his first rave in 1995. He
described it as having this ``instant atmosphere'' where everyone was
sharing food, drugs and whatever else they had. He raves no more than once
a month and considers raves a social experience that drugs such as ecstasy
merely enhance.

``Seeing people on chemicals scared me (at first) because they appeared so
zombie-like,'' he says. ``But now what I thought to be zombie-like, I know
as happy bliss.''

Sandra, a 17-year-old student, is also drawn to the rave scene. ``I go
because I love the culture. I really like how people can come together and
not know each other's names and still become friends because they are into
the same stuff: good music, good dancing (and the) same drugs.''

So what is it about ravers who are in control and those who aren't? Theresa
offers one suggestion: family.

She says excessive drug users ``have dead parents or have run away from
something at home. Be it abuse, incest, alcoholism, the list continues.''

Karen, however, believes the amount of drug abuse is determined by a teen's
self-esteem. ``It depends on the person. I had a friend who was fat and
didn't have many friends. When she started doing crystal, she lost weight
and made friends at raves. I think she was afraid that if she stopped
(using drugs), she would go back to being a loser.''

Heather Wilson co-wrote ``Just Say Know,'' a preface to her father's book
Buzzed. She says drugs are used by youth to self-medicate and artificially
fill emotional voids.

``We use recreational drugs, like `e,' crystal and pot to fill a void or to
stop the hurt.

``The appeal of drugs is strong when someone feels a lack of love and
support or lack of self-confidence. The urge to self-medicate may be almost
irresistible if there are unresolved psychological disorders like
depression. It makes sense that if you feel bad, you explore any hope to
feel better that is readily available and popular with peers.''

For many, the rave scene is a safe escape from the real world. There is
always someone to talk to and the bonds formed at these raves seem very
real. Unfortunately, for some, these bonds come at a high price.

Myka Tucker-Abramson, 16, is a student at Northern Secondary School in
Toronto.