Pubdate: Thu, 07 Dec 2000
Source: Bay Area Reporter (CA)
Website: http://www.ebar.com/
Contact:  2000 The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R.
Author: Tonne Serah, Ph.D.
Cited: http://www.dancesafe.org (DanceSafe)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
Note: "Tonne Serah" is a San Francisco activist, author, and club boy. He
writes PartyWise, a harm reduction column at www.klubz.com.

TIME TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DROP

It's 3 a.m. and the sour smell of vomit is definitely harshing my buzz. But
this is not the back room of a porno theater or a doorway on Sixth Street.
This is San Francisco's biggest gay dance club. Already I've seen one friend
dragged out unconscious because of a drug overdose and watched two people
throwing up for the same reason. Not in the bathroom. On the dance floor. 

Ambulances pulling up to clubs and circuit parties has become a routine
sight in San Francisco. Large venues deal with 12 or more medical
emergencies in a single night. And while circuit boys are passing out on the
dance floor, others are being led away in handcuffs. It takes a lot of
denial to ignore the fact that we have a problem. 

In response, the San Francisco Police Department has been waging a war on
drugs in the South of Market area. Clubs have been forced to adopt security
worthy of a police state. Some have been reluctant to call ambulances for
fear that the police will use 911 records to revoke their permits. 

None of this comes as a surprise. Critics have being pointing out the
failings of the war on drugs for years. Our jails are filled with casual
drug users. Ever harsher penalties have driven the distribution of drugs
into the hands of international syndicates. And as drug seizures reduce
supply, fake and sometimes dangerous substances are made to meet demand.
(DanceSafe, a nonprofit organization that tests ecstasy pills, finds that
nearly one-third contain something besides ecstasy.) 

There is an alternative. Called harm reduction, it's based on a simple
principle. If we can't eliminate drug use, then let's do what we can to
reduce the harm associated with it. Harm reduction means fact-based drug
education, including information on how to reduce risks, not "Reefer
Madness" fear tactics that breed disbelief and distrust. 

Harm reduction means peer education - people from your community sharing
what they've learned about drugs and not judgmental authorities telling you
how to live your life. 

Harm reduction involves the health and safety of everyone who loves to
dance. This includes free earplugs, drinking water, and proper ventilation
in dance venues, and staff prepared to deal with medical emergencies. 

These are not new ideas. Safe sex education and needle exchange, which began
in the GLBT community, are models of harm reduction. But when it comes to
reducing harm from drugs, ravers and organizations like DanceSafe have been
leading the way, providing on-site drug education, safety information, and
pill testing at dance music events. 

Here in San Francisco, a few steps toward harm reduction at clubs and
parties have been taken. Earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors adopted
measures requiring large clubs to provide free drinking water and
prohibiting the SFPD from using reports of ambulance calls to revoke
permits. This fall, volunteers from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,
DanceSafe, and klubz.com began distributing harm reduction information and
ecstasy test kits to club patrons South of Market and in the Castro. But
much more needs to be done. 

Above all, we need to overcome the climate of fear and denial about drug use
at clubs and parties. It's time to talk about what we drop. 

That's why the Stop AIDS Project, together with DanceSafe, the Harm
Reduction Coalition, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, klubz.com,
BarsToClubs.com, and Gus Presents, is sponsoring Circuit Time, a community
forum to talk about why we love to dance and how we can stay safe and
healthy when we party. It's a chance to ask questions about drugs like
ecstasy, GHB, K, and speed, and to learn about harm reduction, in a
nonjudgmental setting. 

Come join us tonight (Thursday, December 7) for the Circuit Time forum from
8 to 10 p.m. at the Women's Building (3543 18th Street at Valencia). 

We need to take care of ourselves and each other. As Madonna sings, "Music
makes the people come together." Let's make those words come true.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk