Kids everywhere ranging from 13 years of
age to their mid-twenties are catching the "new" craze
every weekend:
raves. Though they have just surfaced onto the mainstream
culture, they have been
going on for the past decade and a half.
For the uniformed, raves are weekly all-night
electronic music dance parties that police, social
workers, and politicians say is one of the fastest growing and
worrisome social trends among teens.
Are teens aware of the harm it could cause
them? Could going to parties, using illegal substances,
and dancing until the break of dawn possibly be bad for you?
"Yes," states a senior high school student,
"but it’s worth it. I’d rather live a happy short
life than a crappy long one."
"I go to raves because it’s
fun…the atmosphere is great! Everyone is having fun and
people dress
up for them…" Amanda Finkle, 18.
When asked, many adolescents comment on the
great atmosphere. Everyone seems happy, like a
big family -- everyone is accepted. "[Raves] are a place
where you are with a family of friends which
get together to bond and unite without prejudice to one
another," states Adrian Segeren, 18, "…it’s
a place where frowns become smiles, where smiles become
truth…a place where plush toys revive
and handshakes become hugs."
This is one of the reasons why the rave scene
is so popular; the outcasts of the outcasts can be loved.
Ravers who have the fattest pants, the best moves, do the most
drugs, and have the longest partying
history tend to be the most popular -- it does not take much to
feel special there. Everyone likes to
feel special, to feel wanted, and many would do a great deal to
achieve this.
Despite the rave philosophy (PLUR –
Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect), there is somewhat of a
hierarchy, an elitist society that exists. "You dance well,
you get noticed," says Jay; "At a party if
someone isn’t dressed like a raver, a lot of people feel
they don’t belong there. I used to look at
someone’s pants and automatically assume that I had
something in common with them."
However, there are reasons why raves are
dangerous: The popularity. The "love" can suck people
into the scene. It can almost be compared to being in a gang.
"Drugs themselves make this
"love" even more apparent." Paul, 22.
Substance abuse is another reason why raves
are popular. "[I went to parties]…for the music and
to escape from reality. I don’t go anymore. I went because
wanted to have fun, to take drugs, to get
high," admits a former raver.
50 people at Jarvis C.I. and Queen and John
Streets in Toronto, Canada were interviewed for this
article, 40 of them went to raves and 8 out of 10 that go to
raves go under the influence of some illegal
substance. The reason for this is that drugs are more available
at raves than at school or at work. Upon
walking into a rave, one may easily find themselves being
confronted with an offer of drugs (such as e,
crystal, k, or acid) multiple times in the first half-hour.
"I think people use e because it makes
you feel good. I did it the first time out of pure curiosity,
because
it sounded interesting," states Paul. The effects of ecstasy
that attract people to use it are entactongenesis
(the "at peace" or "happy" feeling one may
feel within), empathogenesis (the close feeling to others), and
enhancement of the senses.
"People told me that e doesn’t cause
brain damage, that it is safe. That’s why I tried it,"
says a raver, 15.
This is not true; ecstasy causes permanent neurological damage as
well as insomnia, convulsions, learning
inability and memory loss. It weakens the immune system and
lowers the serotonin levels in the brain and
spine, which is a fluid that aids in balancing out moods, thus
the lowering of these levels result in depression and anxiety.
Methamphetamine (also known as crystal,
jib or meth) is the drug ecstasy (methylenemethamphetamine)
branched out from. It highly addictive psychologically and
physically, and very popular at raves because it
keeps people up, speeds them up.
"[When the effects of crystal wore off] I
felt hungry, then nauseous…very jittery and fidgety and my
teeth
were grinding…and when I finally came down, I was
exhausted." Jaime, 18. Upon stopping abruptly, the
body would go through withdrawal sickness and feel extremely
tired, ravenously hungry, irritable and depressed.
A hallucinogen often taken by ravers is LSD.
People take it because it goes for $5, lasts 12 hours and is
definitely an escape from reality. It commonly causes insomnia
and may release psychosis or depression,
leading to irrational behavior.
Sammy, a 19-year-old raver, shares her
experience; "I had a bad trip once. I saw this path like
bugs bunny...
digging a tunnel...in a cartoon.... And it traveled over certain
people, then to me. I heard a voice tell me to
stand up on the path, but there was no one there. It’d tell
me that it was my turn to get on the path, and when
I’d try to get away from it, out of the warehouse and walk
forward…I couldn’t. I could only walk sideways…
I broke down and started to cry."
"I’m never going to do acid
again…I had deep bad emotions, remembered things I
didn’t want to," says Paul.
This experience is common in acid users, they are flashbacks; the
replay of an intense emotional experience in
the user’s head--the death of a loved one, the moment of
discovery that one is in love, or even the trip itself.
One of the most dangerous drugs available to
ravers is k (ketamine.) "[I use it because] it makes
feel
detached from the rest of the world, living in a happier
space", says Jaime. Ketamine is a dissociative;
conciousness, memory, perception and motor activity are all
disassociated from each other. Veterinarians
commonly use Ketamine to tranquilize cats.
It may be highly addictive (depending on the
user,) cause brain damage and trigger psychosis, seizures,
depression, and other neurological and psychological diseases.
"K is fun, but I’d never do it again. I’d rather
drink if I wanted to feel that way, plus it is safer,"
states Paul.
"I think it’s worth it to go sober,
because you still have fun," states Gaby, grade 11. "I
go sober, I’ve never
tried any drugs…I’m afraid of trying it…I have
other things more important to me," Amanda Finkle, OAC.
Even attending raves sober is dangerous. At
the Effective (a production company) rave this past August, a
teenage girl was found raped. Someone slipped a drug called GHB
(Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate) into her
drink and took advantage of her – again another reason to
consider.
In the rave scene, there is a big movement
against the use of GHB, for it is a killer drug and known
as the
new date rape drug (roofies, or rophynyl being the
drug of choice commonly used for date rapes.) GHB is also
known as "liquid ecstasy," for in dosages of 0.5g, it
causes feelings of relaxation, inner-peace and happiness.
Taking only slightly more can easily cause nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, headaches, confusion, dizziness, seizures,
forced sleep, comas and even no breathing. When mixed with an
alcoholic drink, it greatly increases the chance
of overdose and death. "[GHB] made me feel like I was
really drunk, drowsy, disorientated…then I felt sick
and threw up," Kari, a 19 year old raver and a first time
user.
The most obvious reason as to why raves are
dangerous is the mere act of staying out all night – it is
unhealthy.
The body is not only deprived of a good night’s rest, but is
also over worked (ravers tend to stay up on their feet,
dancing for hours) and deprived of quality water. The water
bottles at raves range from $1.50 to $3.00 (Cdn.)
and a body that dances and sweats profusely will need more than
just one. Very few people can afford multiple
bottles of water, so they fill the bottles up in the washroom.
Owners of venues sometimes turn off the water supply
resulting in the dehydration of many ravers, and the lack of
water for those on e is fatal.
Up until two years ago, raves (in Toronto)
happened in warehouses where there would be no running water, no
washrooms, no medical aid, no fire extinguishers or alarms or
sprinklers, insufficient exits, and hazardous materials
stored on site. When the police caught on, they started shutting
them down due to the lack of a permit. Raves are
now only legally allowed to happen in above ground, rented spaces
(such as the International Center, Toronto
Congress Center, Better Living Center, the Automotive building
and various nightclub facilities) guarded by hired
security, so they are now a bit safer. However, police as well as
politicians continue their mission in shutting down
the scene due to noise disturbance, increased drug use and
corruption of youth.