TECHNO DANCES MIGHT BE BANNED

Dane County officials might consider changing security measures or banning
techno dances at the Alliant Center, after a newspaper reported rampant
drug use at an event last month.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Sheriff Gary Hamblin and Alliant
Center Executive Director Bill DiCarlo met briefly Monday in response to a
story Sunday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reporters attended an event
called Psychosis 2002 on April 27 and wrote that most of the attendees were
using drugs.

There were 13 arrests following the concert, in which roughly 2,500
attended to listen to about 30 disc jockeys, including Grammy Award nominee
Richard Humpty Vission. Six people were arrested for marijuana possession,
three for disorderly conduct and four for use of "club drugs" Ecstasy and
ketamine, DiCarlo said.

The event was run by established dance-party promoters, Plantation
Productions of Milwaukee. Techno dances, which have been held at the
Alliant Center - which is owned and operated by Dane County - for about
seven years, are no longer called "raves" because of the connotation of
drug use.

Sharyn Wisniewski, assistant to Falk, said the county will consider
increasing security measures such as making the events end at midnight
instead of 4 a.m. That's in addition to rules the county put on such events
last year. She also said county attorneys will review whether such events
can be banned.

"We don't have a lot of flexibility to deny usage to a public building,"
Wisniewski said. "We'll look at how some other communities in other states
take steps to overcome that standard and not allow that type of
entertainment to be held in public buildings."

If attorneys show that the county can legally deny techno dance promoters,
Wisniewski said Falk would "look closely at that option."

Promoter Kurt Eckes, who runs Milwaukee-based Drop Bass Network, doesn't
hold techno dances at the Alliant Center any more because of a 3,000-person
limit and additional security fees. The techno dances are no longer
profitable with those restrictions, he said. He said soon promoters will
start suing public venues that deny techno dances.

"You can't discriminate over one style of music over the other," Eckes
said. "This is America."

But Sheriff Gary Hamblin said drug use is typically overwhelming at techno
dances. Although Hamblin was not at the April event, he does not doubt many
attendees were doing drugs, especially Ecstasy. Hamblin said his deputies
and Alliant security do the best they can to stop drug use. But drugs can
be taken before the concert and pills can easily be hidden on attendees.

"It's almost an impossible situation," Hamblin said. "I don't think there's
any way of controlling it. It's not like at Camp Randall when they pat down
looking for a six-pack of beer."

Hamblin said he'd like to see techno dances banned from the Alliant Center.

"We've been against them," Hamblin said. "It gives parents a false sense of
security to drop their kids off at the Center and see cops there. But
there's no way we can guarantee safety."

Any techno dance at the Alliant Center must be promoted as drug and alcohol
free. No one under age 16 is allowed and no one under 18 is allowed after
midnight, Wisniewski said.

A day before the April event, seven people in Madison were indicted as part
of Dane County's most extensive Ecstasy bust, in which 11,000 hits of
Ecstasy were uncovered.

Ecstasy - the slang term for MDMA - is a stimulant and a hallucinogen that
has been around for decades and was legal until the mid-1980s. Side effects
often include dehydration, overheating and clenching of the jaws. Experts
say chronic use can damage neurons, impair memory and can cause long-term
depression.

Eckes said Ecstasy use "is a problem in America right now" and techno
dances shouldn't take the blame.

"We already provide security that's above and beyond any other concerts
because of the bad rap we've gotten," Eckes said.