DRUGS PART OF THE DANCE AT ALL-AGES SUNSET ROOM

Robotic-sounding techno music pumps from the speakers as an eclectic
group of people sways, jumps and twirls around the dance floor. A man
who looks to be in his 20s snorts something powdery from the side of
his closed fist on the patio outside before joining the dancers, whose
clothes glow neon under a black light.

The crowd is mostly 20-somethings on this Friday night, some dancing
barefoot on the hardwood floor. One man with a long white beard and
white hair gathered in a high ponytail looks at ease in the young
crowd, though he appears to be about 50, wearing a Hawaiian-print
shirt and mismatched flowered shorts.

This is the Sunset Room, a no-alcohol, all-ages, all-night dance venue
on Herald Street behind Value Village, where people from 15 to 50
dance until dawn, many fuelled by ecstasy and energy drinks.

It's a place where even the owner admits drugs are present, although
he bills it as a "safe space" for teens nonetheless.

Amber Leslie used to be a regular in this crowd, but stopped going a
couple of months ago after she took a pill she thought was ecstasy but
turned out to be laced with crystal meth. She ended up spending the
night in the hospital.

It was enough to make the 20-year-old change her habits -- and she's
now worried about the teens as young as 14 who continue to party in
the rave-like atmosphere, where drugs come with the territory.

"I'm just worried about some kid doing the same thing I did, or taking
too much and dying," said Leslie, adding it's not uncommon for drug
dealers to peddle their products right in the establishment. "I've
seen it. I've even done it." Everyone at the Sunset Room is "pretty
much on something," said Leslie, saying the most popular drugs are
ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and ketamine, a cat tranquilizer.

Sunset Room owner Jason Guille said there is an inevitable link
between dance culture and drugs, which is why he's employed
harm-reduction measures, including providing staff with first-aid
training. He also allows the drug-awareness group IslandKidz to set up
a table in the venue about once a month.

"I acknowledge that there's drugs there. But I would rather take
education and safety measures than have someone like Amber go through
what she went through," he said.

IslandKidz sometimes does "pill screenings," where a small part of the
drug is tested for the presence of other, more dangerous, substances,
said volunteer Amanda Farrell. Volunteers also calm people down when
they are tripping out from a high or offer drug information to people
who might be new to the scene.

If young people want to take drugs, they'll find a way to do it,
Guille said, whether at a house party or at the Sunset Room. "We never
let people sleep, we never let them flail, we give them food, we send
them home with friends." Last month, Guille began enforcing a
16-and-up rule when he noticed more 14- and 15-year-olds coming to
events. Guille, who is 35 and father of a 15-year-old son, said the
atmosphere might not be appropriate for teens that young. He said he
has turned away a group of 15-year-old regulars.

As for drug dealers, Guille said staff have identified about six
people known to sell drugs there and have banned them from the
establishment.

The venue, with a 60- person capacity, almost resembles a high school
dance, with an elevated DJ booth at the front -- the DJ's spins and
scratches visible from a downward-slanted mirror behind him -- glowing
decals on the otherwise white walls and chairs and couches set up
against the perimeter.

The Sunset Room operates as an all-ages dance venue on Friday and
Saturday nights, but Guille points out it's a multipurpose rental
space, where local DJs and promoters host a variety of events, from
art shows and film screenings to workshops and rehearsals. Guille said
while the promoters usually bring their own staff, they sign an
agreement that they will ID patrons at the door. Victoria police have
rarely had issues at the venue, which generates fewer problems than
many of the bars and nightclubs downtown. A few weeks ago, police had
to remove an "unwanted person," said spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton.

Police can do little about people bringing drugs into any venue, other
than full body searches, said Hamilton, adding the onus is on parents
to know where their teenagers are.

Guille maintains that age is irrelevant to decision-making and younger
teens tend to look out for each other better. And he agrees that
parents need to take responsibility for their children. "If a
16-year-old is at the Sunset Room until 4 a.m., that's a parental issue."