COW PALACE RAVES ARE NOT WORTH IT

How much is a life worth?

Marijuana is easily available for $20; three lines of cocaine run
$10. LSD can be had for $5 or $10. Ecstasy pills are worth $5 to $15 each.

Tickets to the May 29 Pop 2010 rave at the Cow Palace were
approximately $85 apiece at the door. Parking was $20. Bottled water
was $3. The event drew approximately 16,500 attendees, and the
promoter reportedly paid $75,000 in rent to the Cow Palace, which is
owned and operated by the California Department of Agriculture.

Pop 2010 resulted in two drug-related deaths, plus another half-dozen
hospitalized for a variety of drug-related symptoms, some
life-threatening. As of June 14, several remain in Bay Area
hospitals. At the event, more than 100 law enforcement officers from
25 local, state and federal agencies arrested 73 - including five
minors - on various drug charges and seized some 800 tablets of
ecstasy, plus varying amounts of LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine and
marijuana, and thousands in cash.

It was not the first time.

Drug-related arrests at multiple Cow Palace raves from 2003 through
2009 total more than 255, and a 2002 New Year's Eve rave at the Cow
Palace resulted in two fatal overdoses.

The pattern here is obvious and cannot continue.

Add up all the associated police, emergency medical and hospital
expenses, and the costs are staggering. However the real costs are
borne by the people of the surrounding residential neighborhood. They
must deal with the aftermath of events that attract countless drug
dealers from as far away as Los Angeles and Seattle. If the Cow
Palace, as a public facility, were under the jurisdiction of San
Mateo County, a rave-type event would most likely be prohibited as
being an incompatible use.

In all fairness, the majority of the Pop 2010 attendees had nothing
to do with illegal drug use or distribution. They were there for the
music and the social aspects of a large, all-night, electronic dance
party. The promoter cooperated with law enforcement and all attendees
were informed about undercover officers being in the crowd.

Those involved with illegal substances generally do so regardless of
time and location and regardless of whether or not the Cow Palace can
or cannot host raves.

However, that is not the point.

By itself, an electronic music festival is simply a highly
profitable, commercial event catering to those who enjoy listening
and dancing to that genre of music. No problem. However, in reality,
such events also attract drug dealers from hundreds of miles away,
while draining law enforcement and public health resources. In
reality, a rave at the Cow Palace killed two - again.

Giant dance parties with thousands of attendees, dozens of
drug-related arrests, running until 2 a.m. are absolutely
incompatible with a residential neighborhood.

Are raves appropriate for the Cow Palace? Are two lives worth $75,000?

No.