LINKING DRUGS TO EVENTS IS UNFAIR, SAYS RAVE COMMUNITY

Members of Calgary's rave community say they feel attacked and pigeonholed
by police and media reports about drug use at raves.

A nine-month sting operation targeted at the city's rave scene was recently
touted by police for a number of drug arrests and netting drugs like
ecstasy and ketamine. Repeated phone calls to police requesting comment on
the operation were not returned.

Members of Calgary's rave community say linking drug use to raves is
unfair, especially because many feel a true rave scene has been stifled in
Calgary under the controversial extended dance bylaw -- much-anticipated
changes to the bylaw are still being developed.

Lucie Vlach, a member of a dance community organization who is working with
city hall on changes to the bylaw, says she was surprised by the news of
the drug busts because the bylaw has resulted in very few raves taking
place in Calgary.

She adds that the bylaw's requirement that promoters pay for off-duty
police officers to patrol raves is among the more contentious aspects of
the bylaw because that expense is too much for many promoters. Such
expenses mean most promoters can only stage small, unlicensed events.

Vlach says the dance community has been pushing for changes to those
requirements, and she questions police motivations for targeting raves.

"I'm speculating, but maybe we're seeing all this in the media for police
to justify their presence at events," she says. "I think some of this is to
show that (police) presence is needed."

Craig Booone, another member of Calgary's dance community, says he is
getting tired of the scene being labelled as a drug haven because drugs are
no more prevalent at raves than at schools and nightclubs, where busts are
rarely front-page news.

"If it was a Rod Stewart concert where everybody was smoking pot, you
wouldn't hear about it," Boone says. "The police nick one or two dealers,
well, you're talking about one per cent of the community. You can't hold
the other 99 per cent accountable for that.

"As far as the community is concerned, it's good riddance -- nobody wants
dealers around raves."

Vlach says it's wrong to assume that raves are a hotbed of drug activity,
and that such stereotypes further sully the reputation of those struggling
to make positive changes to the bylaw and create a true community.

"We may be the headache, but we're not the tumour. We're getting easily
blamed because we're a small community," Vlach says.

"Rave culture and club culture and drug culture are not the same thing.
We're not the cause of the problem."