Dear Editors, Danielle Ben-Veniste's "Outraged Over Rave" (Issue #4.35) hits the nail right on the head regarding the federal government's attempted anti-rave legislation. I am a DJ and long-time member of the rave and club scene here in California, and I am deeply disturbed by the negative stigma that many people seem to attach to our culture. Raver culture is extremely positive. We believe in PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity and Respect) - are these not worthwhile values? In ravers I see a utopian sub-community, where violence or "bad vibes" are rare, but caring, understanding and tolerance are the norm. [continues 160 words]
The amount of the drug Ecstasy that some recreational users take in a single night may cause permanent brain damage and lead to symptoms like those of Parkinson's disease, a study in primates has found. But critics say that the monkeys and baboons in the study were given huge overdoses of the drug and that the kind of damage the researchers found has never been found in autopsies or brain scans of humans who took large amounts. Dr. George A. Ricaurte of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who led the study, said its most disturbing finding was that just two or three Ecstasy tablets can damage the cells that produce dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control movement, emotions and the ability to feel pleasure. [continues 766 words]
A bill expected to pass the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent this fall could have a chilling effect on Florida's nightclub industry. Senate bill S. 2633, a k a the Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002, or the RAVE Act, would broaden federal standards for prosecuting venues under the so-called crack-house laws, which were designed to stamp out crack cocaine dealers. It would also add stiff civil penalties. The bill specifically targets dance-music venues, whether they are temporary outdoor raves or established nightclubs. The RAVE Act has raised the ire of the electronic music industry, which brings tens of thousands of professionals and partyers to Miami every year for the Winter Music Conference. [continues 958 words]
Last night, after seven years of weekly raves, the Southeast Washington music club Nation stayed dark on a Friday. The club's popular dance party, Buzz, has been permanently canceled. Washingtonians who say they had formed a community around the raves instead held a candlelight vigil outside. "I think all electronic music fans in D.C. are going to miss it," said Tim Moore, a Buzz-goer since 1998. "It was the centerpiece of the scene here. It was one of the oldest ongoing events in D.C., and it was certainly the biggest in terms of the number of people who would come, and the talent, the money and effort that went into the production of their music." [continues 980 words]
Joe Biden Wants To Make Your Party Illegal Long-time Dig readers may recall a series of articles over the past two years tracking the government's increasing concern with Ecstasy and what the DEA has labeled "rave culture." This fall, the issue will once again be highlighted by legislators as the Senate takes a vote on the proposed RAVE (Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act, designed to crack down on Ecstasy use by imposing strict regulations on the electronic music scene that legislators say is inherently linked to the distribution, sale and use of "club drugs." [continues 1147 words]
SOME 600 RAVERS GATHERED ON the lawn outside the Federal Building in Westwood last Friday to protest proposed federal legislation that could force raves underground. "It upsets me that this culture will die," said 18-year-old USC student Sydney Katz, as she passed out Arrowhead water to the throng of mostly teenagers at "Freedom To Dance," the five-hour DJ-driven demonstration. "The culture thrives on the ability to be live. You have this DJ above you that creates an energy and vibe. If promoters don't throw events, DJs won't be able to make the music they want to." [continues 458 words]
As CEO of Bay Point Schools, I am dedicated to turning around the lives of delinquent adolescent boys. I see how drugs can deplete the lives of today's youth. One of the most effective means of fighting this is to eliminate access to drugs, along with increasing awareness about the dangers of drugs used and sold at rave concerts. That's why I urge our community's support of the proposed congressional legislation, Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act or The Rave Act (S 2633). [continues 199 words]
I wonder if Max Margolis ("Law would cut into rave scene," Aug. 10) has even read the RAVE Act (S2633). The proposed bill is deeply flawed and would unfairly punish business people for the crimes of their customers. It is a danger to innocent nightclub owners, concert promoters, landlords and real-estate managers. In addition to mandating stiff criminal penalties, the bill would allow the federal government to charge property owners civilly, enabling the government to fine businesses without having to meet the higher standard of proof in criminal cases. [continues 92 words]
The small, influential Unitarian Universalist church has issued the rather remarkable call to: "Make all drugs legally available with a prescription by a licensed physician, subject to professional oversight." That's one element - certainly the most controversial - of the denomination's recent Statement of Conscience, all of it meant to be taken at face value. Entitled, "Alternatives to the War on Drugs", the statement was approved through a process of amendments, debate, lobbying by drug reformers in and outside the church and, finally, a formal vote at the Unitarian Universalist Association annual General Assembly, held in June in Quebec City. It was passed by the required two-thirds majority of the 1,500 voting delegates among the 4,200 UUs (as they often call themselves) in attendance. [continues 6358 words]
Feds Go After All-Night Music Parties Generational showdowns abound in music history. In the Prohibition era, flappers and free-flowing jazz and booze irked authorities. Decades later, buttoned-down elders condemned Woodstock as just a hippie drug fest. Now, politicians are targeting raves, the all-night electronic music and dance marathons held anywhere from nightclubs to open fields -- also known these days as "massives," or "desert parties." Young devotees of rave culture claim that no musical genre in recent memory has been so endangered by a misunderstanding political and ruling class. [continues 1474 words]
Government's Move A Lot Like Local Effort Decrying raves as havens for illicit drugs, some U.S. senators want to expand a federal law to zero in on the all-night dance parties where, they say, Ecstasy tags along with the techno beats. Sound familiar? In New Orleans, the government's rage against raves came in the form of the U.S. attorney's office and the so-called "crack-house law," which can mean criminal charges against those whose buildings are used to cook up, shoot up or serve up drugs. [continues 1115 words]
State Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, is taking the right course by pushing for tougher penalties for selling Ecstasy, the mood-altering drug responsible the death of former Penn State student Stephanie Yau last November. Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate, also wanting to look tough on ecstasy, is going overboard. Tough sanctions against dealers is one thing, but the Senate has a bill that would be akin to shutting down bars in an effort to end drunk driving. The federal bill would reach beyond the sellers of the drug to go after the sponsors of raves, the high-intensity dance parties where Ecstasy is frequently used. The cleverly named "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002" -- the RAVE Act, for short -- would "prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining, managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or profiting from" a place or event where illegal drugs are sold or used. This legislation would subject violators to civil fines of up to $250,000 plus injunctive damages. [continues 488 words]
NEW ORLEANS -- Dawn was approaching when the outlaw wizard stepped center stage at the State Palace Theatre to survey his electronic wonderland. Laser lights strafed the grand old chandeliers overhead and deafening machine music rattled the opera boxes. The floor was packed with young, sweaty dancers. "Great crowd," J. Donnie Estopinal said. And then, with a boyish smile, he added: "I wonder which ones are the cops?" The 32-year-old hefted a chugging smoke machine and aimed it toward the audience of more than 3,300. If there were any undercover drug agents in the Canal Street theater -- and there almost certainly were -- Estopinal was suddenly gone, vanished in a billowing white cloud. It was a rare moment of low visibility for the rave promoter whose parties have been the center of a federal war on raves. [continues 950 words]
NASHVILLE -"Casey Jones" wasn't high on life. The speeding engineer in that classic Grateful Dead song was fueled by cocaine. And the "long strange trip" mentioned in "Truckin"' was not about a difficult commute to San Francisco. Drug lyrics in Grateful Dead songs? No surprise there. No other band in the history of rock music was as closely associated with the use of marijuana, acid and hallucinogens as the Grateful Dead. Their concerts were anything but a drug-free zone. [continues 658 words]
For all the reasons outlined in your July 29 commentary, "Ill-Informed Bill to Counter Ecstasy Use in Clubs Is Nothing to Rave About," the U.S. Senate deserves our utmost support for proposing the Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it's probably time to call the game warden. The proposed RAVE Act would hold landlords liable for allowing housing to be used for drug transactions that create long-term community problems. It allows prosecution of people who knowingly open, lease, rent, use or maintain a place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing or using a controlled substance. The bill would make it a federal crime to temporarily use a place for the purpose of using marijuana or other drugs. [continues 117 words]
Rave Bill Takes Aim At Party Drugs Senate Tweaks Law That Was Designed To Close Down Crack Houses New Orleans -- Dawn was approaching when the outlaw wizard stepped center stage at the State Palace Theatre to survey his electronic wonderland. Laser lights strafed the grand old chandeliers overhead, and deafening machine music rattled the opera boxes. The floor was packed with young, sweaty dancers. "Great crowd," J. Donnie Estopinal said. And then, with a boyish smile, he added: "I wonder which ones are the cops?" [continues 670 words]
NEW ORLEANS -- Dawn was approaching when the underground wizard stepped center stage at the State Palace Theatre to survey his electronic wonderland. Laser lights strafed the grand old chandeliers overhead, and deafening machine music rattled the opera boxes. The floor was packed with young, sweaty dancers. "Great crowd," J. Donnie Estopinal said. And then, with a boyish smile, he added: "I wonder which ones are the cops." The gangly 32-year-old hefted a chugging smoke machine and aimed it toward the audience of more than 3,300. If there were any undercover drug agents in the Canal Street theater--and there almost certainly were--Estopinal was suddenly gone before their eyes, vanished in a billowing white cloud. It was a rare moment of low visibility for the promoter whose parties have been ground zero for a federal excursion into the rave world. [continues 2005 words]
Apparently The U.S. Senate Has Little Better To Do Than Hassle The Pacifier-And-Glow-Stick Set Trying to assemble a group of people to talk about the local rave scene is a Herculean task. After a few days of attempting to round up DJs, promoters, crew leaders and club owners for a roundtable discussion, one learns that it might be easier to get a table dance from Dominique Sachse. Either the ravers are performing that night or they simply cannot be found or they just flake out and don't show up. One promoter refused to breathe the same air as one of his rivals, a man he affectionately called "the Adolf Hitler of the Houston rave scene." [continues 856 words]
WHILE EUROPE has largely abandoned the drug war in favor of harm- reduction alternatives, our so-called leaders in Congress are seemingly intent on maximizing the harm associated with illicit drug use. The Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act article targets dance clubs that provide life-saving harm-reduction education, pill testing, and "chill rooms" designed to prevent ecstasy-related heat exhaustion ("Bill a buzzkill for raves," July 22). Sacrificing more children at the altar of the failed drug war in order to "send a message" is not in America's best interest. [continues 134 words]
The RAVE Act Seeks To Shut Down Dance Events And Prosecute Everyone Involved The poor American rave scene. Even those not attracted to all-night dance fests, drum and bass thumping or bright, baggy pants have got to sympathize with the ravers, the DJs, the promoters and the club owners subjected to such constant heat. Not since the advent of the hippie movement has law enforcement taken such a disliking to a music scene, capitalizing on Ecstasy use as the greatest evil the drug culture has yet seen and casting everything associated with raves--from glow sticks, to pacifiers, bottled water to blow pops--in a sinister light. [continues 804 words]
