Pubdate: Mon, 03 Jul 2000
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 The Province
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Author: Barbara McLintock, Staff Reporter The Province

MAYOR BLOWS THROUGH RAVE

VICTORIA -- Unlike some other jurisdictions in B.C.  and Canada, raves are 
legal in the provincial capital.

But the controversy surrounding that decision sent Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe 
to see for himself early yesterday.

The mayor spent about 90 minutes at "Summer School 2000," a rave in the 
city's aging Memorial Arena that drew more than 4,000 young people.

He said it's too soon to render a final judgment, until all reports from 
the police and ambulance services are in.

But his first impression, he said, was that a controlled rave such as 
Summer School was still a better option than having so many teenagers 
gather in a field or warehouse where there are no controls on them at all.

"The first impression is that these are young people having a lot of fun," 
Lowe said.

And, he said, a huge safety and security force appeared to be picking up on 
problems before they could develop far. Security was so tight that some 
people had to wait as long as two hours to get into the building as 
everyone was frisked by a private security company for alcohol, weapons or 
anything else problematic.

A crew of 20 "special duty" Victoria police officers also patrolled the 
arena's hallways and mezzanines, keeping watch for any trouble. A private 
first-aid company attended to minor problems with a crew of provincial 
ambulance paramedics on hand for anything more serious.

By the end of the night, they'd treated about 10 drug overdoses, almost all 
involving the rave drug of choice, Ecstacy. Three were taken to hospital, 
but none was reported in serious condition. Police officers pointed out 
some young people who were obviously stoned on the drug.

The young people participating told the mayor they felt much safer at a 
rave than at a rock concert or even on the downtown streets, where alcohol 
can cause much more violence.
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