Growth, Development and Dangers of Raves

            The underground rave scene began in Europe in the 1980s, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Locations consisted of big, empty warehouses that could hold hundreds, even thousands, of individuals.

            Raves came to the USA in 1990 with promoters doing their best to bring new participants and young people to their events.

            Big, dance parties would take place into the early hours of the morning. Raving, essentially, was more dangerous in these times because of how misinformed participants were of the drugs they were taking and of the general precautions one must take to enjoy a healthy and safe rave.

            The real dangers from raving are not what they appear to be at first glance. For one, not every rave drug is dangerous if taken in moderation and precautions are taken to protect the body from side effects.

            When raves began, pills and capsules of ecstasy were circulated through the parties without anyone really knowing what they were taking. Drug dealers, sometimes, were even unaware of what they were selling.

            This uncertainty has morphed into an almost obsessive need to know what a drug is and how it works. Nowadays, ecstasy pills are almost unheard of.

            The true danger of ecstasy is not the drug MDMA itself but other drugs that the pills end up being cut with. Heroine, cocaine, meth and simply unhealthy ingredients were put into ecstasy pills to increase their effects and effectiveness.

            “Molly” and “M1” have become the go-to drug for raves. Both are a white powder taken orally, either by capsules or direct absorption in the gums and mouth.

            These drugs make it harder for individuals to place unnecessary ingredients in them because of how distinctive the qualities of M1 and molly are.

            Drug dealers (and most ravers) now know how their drugs are supposed to look, taste, smell and feel. This knowledge gain has been one of the most distinctive features of the increasing safety in the raving scene.

            Raves have been growing in popularity for many reasons. For one, the Internet makes promotion for these events extremely easy and efficient. Now instead of hearing about a rave through a flyer or word of mouth, Facebook invites to events are literally as easy as the click of a button.

            With the advancement of technology comes cheaper means of implementing this technology into everyday (or night) activities. Raves are actually extremely cheap to put on. The DJs are generally not paid unless they are famous or extremely well know. Lights are usually donated or provided by the event planners or promoters who already have a wide array of rave equipment.

            Promoters are the driving force behind raves: they inform everyone of the location (which they had picked), schedule djs, set up the venue beforehand, among other tasks. The Internet has increased the number of promoters needed for an event but decreased the overall knowledge and actual interest of any one individual promoter. Now some people promote for the sole purpose of receiving a free ticket to that event.            

            Parents are sometimes conned into the idea of thinking a rave is safe if it is warned that no alcohol will be served. This however only increases the number of individuals participating in illegal drugs and doesn’t necessarily detract from anyone’s need or desire to sneak in their own alcohol.

            As mentioned before, drugs may be a considerable danger to ravers but they are not the biggest danger. Dehydration, ignorance of precautions, drug pushers, property damage, sales of pharmaceuticals for nonmedical purposes and individuals seeking to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts are all factors that combine to potentially make raves dangerous environments. 

            Date rape drugs are rare but not unheard of. These drugs include ketamine (which is now taken willingly as a rave drug), GHB and Rohypnol.

            Because raves are focused more around drug culture rather than drink culture, fewer individuals will participate in consuming alcohol, which decreases the overall chances of being slipped a dangerous drug in one's drink.

            Combining alcohol use with drug use is an extremely dangerous combination. This mixture is the one that can cause fainting or even death. Everyone at these events in generally in their own world, so attending to a friend in need is sometimes overlooked because the individual is not even aware their friend requires assistance.

            New drugs have begun making their way into the USA raving community. These drugs are known as the 2c series, which include 2ci, 2cb and 2ce. These are experimental and research drugs that scientists have been working on in order to decrease the side effects of natural drugs. The 2c series tries to bring the best qualities of a drug into effect and leave the nasty side effects out of the equation. Long-term effects of these drugs are unknown.