Drug Use
In the U.S., law enforcement agencies have branded the subculture as a purely drug-centric culture, usually drugs such as Marijuana, MDMA, 2CB, LSD, DMT, Amphetamine and Ketamine, similar to the hippie movement of the 1960s. However, this is almost universally a false association, as the vast majority of raves and similar events are legitimate social gatherings, most commonly organized by local businesses or entertainment companies, and rarely, if not almost never, condone or promote illegal activities.
Groups that have addressed alleged drug use at raves include the Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund (EMDEF), The Toronto Raver Info Project, and DanceSafe, all of which advocate harm reduction approaches. Paradoxically, drug safety literature (such as those distributed by DanceSafe) is incorrectly or falsely used as evidence of condoned drug use. Other groups, such as Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., slanderously and falsely characterize raves as being rife with gang activity, rape, robbery, and drug-related deaths. Again, this is universally a falsehood, as organized raves are often more safe and supervised than 'normal' parties held by individuals in their homes.
In 2005, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, advocated drug testing on highways as a countermeasure against drug use at raves. However, this was shot down as profiling and false association between legitimate social gatherings and implied drug use.
In recent times, as opposed to the past decades, rave venues have taken to hiring local law enforcement to reduce drug use.
Read more about this topic: Ravealation
Famous quotes containing the word drug:
“If an addict who has been completely cured starts smoking again he no longer experiences the discomfort of his first addiction. There exists, therefore, outside alkaloids and habit, a sense for opium, an intangible habit which lives on, despite the recasting of the organism.... The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.”
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)
“Most people aren’t appreciated enough, and the bravest things we do in our lives are usually known only to ourselves. No one throws ticker tape on the man who chose to be faithful to his wife, on the lawyer who didn’t take the drug money, or the daughter who held her tongue again and again. All this anonymous heroism.”
—Peggy Noonan (b. 1950)