Raves Information Bulletin - Justice · PDF file3 National Drug Intelligence Center The location of the rave often is given to the caller over the telephone, but many promoters further

BULLETINI N F O R M AT I O N

APRIL 2001

Product No. 2001-L0424-004

U. S. D E P A R T M E N T O F J U S T I C E

Introduction

High energy, all-night dance parties and clubsknown as “raves,” which feature dance music with afast, pounding beat and choreographed laser pro-grams, have become increasingly popular over thelast decade, particularly among teenagers and youngadults. Beginning as an underground movement inEurope, raves have evolved into a highly organized,commercialized, worldwide party culture. Rave partiesand clubs are now found throughout the United Statesand in countries around the world. Raves are heldeither in permanent dance clubs or at temporary ven-ues set up for a single weekend event in abandonedwarehouses, open fields, or empty buildings.

Attendance can range from 30 “ravers” in asmall club to tens of thousands in a sports stadiumor open field. While techno music and light showsare essential to raves, drugs such as MDMA(3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), ketamine,GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol, andLSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), have become anintegral component of the rave culture.

History

Raves evolved from 1980s danceparties, aided by the emergence ofEuropean techno music and Americanhouse music. (See Rave Music textbox.) European clubs that sponsoredraves in the 1980s tried to limit the ex-posure of attendees to the public andto law enforcement. Raves were

secretive, after-hours, private dance parties andwere often held in gay clubs where attendance wasrestricted to invitees or friends of invitees. The siteof the party was often kept confidential, and inviteesusually were not told the location of the host clubuntil the night of the party. Because of the restrictedaccess and the secrecy surrounding the locations,the growing rave culture was often described as an“underground” movement.

By the mid-1980s, rave parties overseas haddeveloped such a following among youths and youngadults that by 1987, London raves had outgrown mostdance clubs. It then became common to hold all-nightraves—which drew thousands of people—in large,open fields on the outskirts of the city. As the move-ment continued to grow in the late 1980s, the firstrave parties emerged in U.S. cities such as San Fran-cisco and Los Angeles.

Rave parties and clubs were present in mostmetropolitan areas of the United States by the early1990s. Teenagers overtook the traditional young adultravers and a new rave culture emerged; events be-came highly promoted, heavily commercialized, andless secretive. Many new U.S. rave promoters were

This document may contain dated information.It has been made available to provide access to historical materials.

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career criminals who recognized the profitability oforganizing events tailored to teens. Capitalizing onthe growing popularity of raves, specialized industrieswere developed to market clothes, toys, drugs, andmusic. Private clubs and secret locations were replacedby stadium venues with off-duty police security.

By the late 1990s, raves in the United Stateshad become so commercialized that events were littlemore than an exploitation of American youth. Today’sraves are characterized by high entrance fees, ex-tensive drug use, exorbitantly priced bottled water,very dark and often dangerously overcrowded dancefloors, and “chill rooms,” where teenage ravers goto cool down and often engage in open sexual activity.Moreover, many club owners and promoters appearto promote the use of drugs—especially MDMA. Theyprovide bottled water and sports drinks to managehyperthermia and dehydration; pacifiers to preventinvoluntary teeth clenching; and menthol nasal inhal-ers, chemical lights, and neon glow sticks to enhancethe effects of MDMA. In addition, rave promotersoften print flyers featuring prominent and repeated

use of the letters “E” and “X” (E and X are MDMAmonikers) or the word “rollin’” (refers to an MDMAhigh), surreptitiously promoting MDMA use alongwith the rave.

The increasing notoriety of raves has causedthe rave culture to spread from major metropolitanareas to more rural or conservative locations. Raveparties are emerging in areas of Colorado, Iowa,Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsinthat are not always prepared to manage unexpectedcrowds of teenagers.

Rave Promotion

Despite the commercialization of raves throughthe 1990s, many promoters have preserved the tra-dition of rave location secrecy, more as a noveltythan as a necessity. In this tradition, raves are rarelypromoted in open media but are advertised on flyersfound only at record stores and clothing shops, atother rave parties and clubs, and on rave Internet sites.The flyers or Internet advertisements typically pro-vide only the name of the city where the rave will beheld and a phone number for additional information.

Rave flyers and posters promote upcoming events.Information on the flyer usually is limited to thedate, city, and theme of the event. Some flyers alsoinclude the name of the rave promoter, the DJsscheduled to play, and a phone number to call formore information.

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Rave music evolved from 1980s techno, house, and New Yorkgarage music. The mix of these different styles of dance musichelped mold the modern version of electronic rave music.Today, rave music falls into several categories: ambient, techno,trance, progressive trance, cybertrance, house, jungle, drum‘n’ bass, techstep, garage, and big beat.

Although a casual listener may not be able to distinguish be-tween techno and trance, ravers know the music well, andseveral DJs and bands—unfamiliar to most people—areinternationally famous within the rave community. Today’s raveDJs are skilled stage performers and are considered artistsmuch like musicians. They mix electronic sounds, beats, andrhythms, often synchronizing the music to a laser program.Popular DJs sell their music and perform live at the largestrave parties and clubs around the world. Rave organizersannounce the appearance of famous DJs on their flyers andon the Internet to promote upcoming raves.

NDIC


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National Drug Intelligence Center

The location of the rave often is given to the callerover the telephone, but many promoters further main-tain secrecy by providing only a location, called a“map point,” where ravers go the night of the rave.At the map point, ravers are told the actual locationof the rave. The map point is usually a record or cloth-ing store within a 20-minute drive of the rave.

Raves and Club Drugs

Drugs like MDMA, ketamine, GHB, Rohypnol,and LSD—known collectively as “club drugs”—arean integral part of the rave culture. Many ravers useclub drugs and advocate their use, wrongly believ-ing that they are not harmful if they are used“responsibly” and their effects are managed prop-erly. Many of the commercially designed rave clothesdisplay pro-drug messages, and rave posters and flyersoften promote drug use.

Members of private drug education and drugtesting organizations, called “harm reduction orga-nizations,” have appeared at raves over the past 10years. They attend rave events to test samples ofillegal drugs so they can inform ravers of purity lev-els. Members of these organizations believe thatthey help reduce the number of overdoses by edu-cating users on the physical effects of specific drugs.Conversely, many law enforcement agencies believethat the practices of harm reduction organizationsencourage drug use, and they support their positionwith national statistics that show an increase in clubdrug overdoses as harm reduction organizationshave become more active.

Club drug use accounts for increasing num-bers of drug overdoses and emergency room visits.According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network(DAWN), the number of emergency department(ED) mentions for MDMA and GHB, often associ-ated with the crime of drug-facilitated rape, morethan doubled between 1998 and 1999. (See DAWNchart.) DAWN data for 1999 further indicate thatyoung people are the primary users of MDMA andGHB. For instance, whereas 29 percent of allDAWN ED cases involved patients aged 25 and

under, at least 80 percent of ketamine, LSD,MDMA, and Rohypnol ED mentions and 59 per-cent of GHB ED mentions were aged 25 and under.

MDMA is unquestionably the most popular ofthe club drugs, and evidence of MDMA use by teen-agers can be seen at most rave parties. Ketamine andGHB also are used at raves, as is Rohypnol, althoughto a lesser extent. A recent resurgence in the avail-ability and use of some hallucinogens—LSD, PCP(phencyclidine), psilocybin, and peyote or mescaline—has also been noted at raves and dance clubs andmay necessitate their inclusion in the club drug cat-egory. Inhalants like nitrous oxide are sometimesfound at rave events; nitrous oxide is sold in gas-filled balloons called “whippets” for $5–$10.

Rampant use of club drugs at raves may be lead-ing to the use of other and highly addictive drugs byyouths. There have been widespread reports of in-creasing availability and use of Asian methamphet-amine tablets (frequently referred to as “yaba”) atCalifornia raves and nightclubs. Heroin is being en-countered more frequently at raves and clubs in largemetropolitan areas, especially in the eastern UnitedStates. A wider variety of visually appealing and easy-to-administer forms of MDMA, LSD, heroin, andcombination tablets are also found at raves and oncollege campuses.


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Rave Clothing andParaphernalia

Many young ravers wear distinctive clothingand carry paraphernalia commonly associated withclub drug use and the rave culture. Ravers dress forcomfort. They usually wear lightweight, loose-fittingclothes and dress in layers, allowing them to removeclothing as they become overheated from dancingfor hours. Many wear loose shorts or very wide-legged or baggy pants. Ravers wear T-shirts, bikinitops, tank tops, tube tops, and open-back halter tops tohelp keep cool. After hours of dancing and often afterusing MDMA—which elevates body temperature—many ravers have removed most of their clothing. Someravers, especially females, wear costumes to raveevents, dressing as princesses, cartoon characters, orother fantasy figures that match the theme of the rave(e.g., futuristic, space, mystic).

Ravers often wear bright accessories like brace-lets, necklaces, and earrings made of either plastic beadsor pill-shaped sugar candies. MDMA users some-times use these accessories to disguise their drugs,stringing MDMA tablets mixed with the candies.Many ravers chew on baby pacifiers or lollipops to

offset the effects of involuntary teeth grind-ing caused by MDMA. Pacifiers are wornaround the user’s neck, often on plastic beadednecklaces.

Many people bring various items torave events to enhance the effects ofMDMA. Ravers use bright chemical lightsand flashing lights to heighten the halluci-nogenic properties of MDMA and the visualdistortions brought on by its use. Chemicalglow sticks, bracelets, and necklaces arecommonly worn at raves and waved in theeyes of MDMA users for visual stimulus.Ravers often insert flashing red lights intheir belly buttons (held in place with a mildadhesive) and pin blinking lights in theshape of hearts, stars, and animals to their

clothing to provide additional visual stimulation toMDMA users. Ravers that use MDMA often wearpainter’s masks with menthol vapor rub applied tothe inside of the mask. MDMA users believe that byinhaling the menthol fumes, they are enhancing theeffects of the drug. They may be adding to their riskof hyperthermia, however, because the fumes causeeyes and nasal passages to dry out.

Candy necklaces may disguise MDMA.

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Beaded necklace with pacifier.

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Anti-Rave Initiatives

In the late 1990s, many communities beganattempts to reduce the number of raves in their areasand to curb the use of club drugs. Several citiespassed new ordinances designed to regulate raveactivity, while others began enforcing existing lawsthat helped authorities monitor raves more closely.

Cities such as Chicago, Denver, Gainesville,Hartford, Milwaukee, and New York took deliberatesteps to combat raves. These cities reduced raveactivity through enforcement of juvenile curfews, firecodes, health and safety ordinances, liquor laws, andlicensing requirements for large public gatherings.Many communities also began requiring rave promot-ers to retain, at the promoters’ expense, onsite ambu-lance and emergency medical services and uniformedpolice security for large rave events. Because of thesemeasures, many rave promoters and organizers movedtheir operations to other areas.

Perhaps the most successful anti-rave initiative was“Operation Rave Review,” which was initiated in Janu-ary 2000 in New Orleans. Following the overdose deathof a 17-year-old girl at a rave party in 1998, the DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA) assessed the extentof rave activity in the New Orleans area. The assessmentindicated an apparent correlation between rave activityand club drug overdoses resulting in emergency roomvisits. For example, in a 2-year period, 52 raves wereheld at the New Orleans State Palace Theater, duringwhich time approximately 400 teenagers overdosed andwere transported to local emergency rooms.

Following this assessment, the DEA, New OrleansPolice Department, and U.S. Attorney’s Office devel-oped a methodology for the potential prosecution ofrave promoters who allowed open, unabated drug useat the events. They used 21 U.S.C. § 856 as a basis toinvestigate rave promoters and to gather evidence thatthe promoters knowingly and intentionally allowed thedistribution and use of numerous controlled substancesduring rave events. (See statute box.) As a result of thisinvestigation, several rave promoters were arrested andthe largest rave operation in New Orleans was closed.

21 U.S.C. § 856 § 856 Establishment of Manufacturing Operations

(a) Except as authorized by this subchapter, it shallbe unlawful to

(1) Knowingly open or maintain any place forthe purpose of manufacturing, distributing,or using any controlled substance.

(2) Manage or control any building, room, orenclosure, either as an owner, lessee, agent,employee, or mortgagee, and knowingly andintentionally rent, lease, or make availablefor use, with or without compensation, thebuilding, room, or enclosure for the purposeof unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distrib-uting, or using a controlled substance.

(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of thissection shall be sentenced to a term of impris-onment of not more than 20 years or a fine ofnot more than $500,000, or both, or a fine of$2,000,000 for a person other than an individual.

Since the completion of Operation Rave Review,the number of overdoses and emergency room visitscaused by club drug use has dropped 90 percent, andMDMA overdoses have been eliminated, accordingto the DEA and New Orleans hospital officials. Thelaw enforcement agencies that participated in Op-eration Rave Review developed a five-step processthat might be employed effectively in other areas ex-periencing high levels of rave activity, club drug over-doses, and related emergency room visits. The pro-cess employed consisted of the following steps:

1. Identify rave promoters. Potential subjects forinvestigation included all parties responsible formanaging the production and promotion of theraves, including the owners of the property wherethe event was held.


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2. Compile emergency medical service (EMS)records. Records of medical transports fromthe rave venue to local emergency rooms werecollected. Retrieval of medical records some-times required grand jury or administrativesubpoenas or court orders.

3. Conduct undercover operations inside thevenue during rave events. Undercover investi-gators purchased paraphernalia (chemical lightsticks, pacifiers, and drug test kits) at the venueand filmed ravers using drugs and using the para-phernalia to enhance or manage the effects of thedrugs. Undercover investigators filmed drug pur-chases by undercover officers who purchaseddrugs from as many different people as possibleand as quickly as possible to clearly demonstratethe availability of drugs at the venue. Undercoverinvestigators filmed the actions or inaction ofsecurity personnel hired by the rave promoter,and they also filmed patrons being treated ortransported to local emergency rooms.

4. Place an undercover officer. Undercover agentsor officers posed as job applicants for securitypositions and obtained interviews with the ravepromoter. The undercover officers asked for thepromoter’s general expectations of securitypersonnel and specific expectations of securitypersonnel observing drug use or distribution.

5. Execute search warrants. Search warrants wereexecuted at the rave venue, at offsite offices, andat the home of the rave promoter. Officers andagents seized all documents and items relatingto the ownership, advertisement, promotion, andoperation of the rave venue, including but notlimited to purchase orders for rave parapherna-lia, water, and other stock. Officers and agentsalso seized employment records identifying se-curity personnel and any memoranda detailingtheir responsibilities, correspondence or contractswith EMS services, and financial records thatdetailed costs and profits associated with raves.

Conclusion

Raves have developed over the past decade froma small subculture to the highly commercialized andwidespread exploitation of young people by large-scale rave promoters. The growing awareness of thenature of rave activity and the effects of club druguse have moved many communities to action. In orderto curtail rave activity, communities and law enforce-ment agencies are enforcing existing fire codes,health and safety ordinances, and liquor laws, andare establishing juvenile curfews and licensingrequirements for large public gatherings. They arerequiring rave promoters and club owners to pay forbuilding or liquor licenses, medical services, andsecurity for their events, all in an effort to force ravepromoters to move or cease their operations.

Sources

Associated Press

Drug Enforcement Administration,New Orleans Field Division

The Gainesville SunThe Hartford Courant

Jordan, Joel T., Summer Forest Hoeckel, andJason A. Jordan. Searching for the Perfect Beat:Flyer Designs of the American Rave Scene.New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000

Mock, SGT. James P. (Ret.). “The RaveCulture, Ravers & Their Drugs: An Over-view.” Training Bulletin

Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration, Drug Abuse Warning Network

Cover photo NDIC , background ©Images 4 Communication


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Raves Information Bulletin - Justice · PDF file3 National Drug Intelligence Center The location of the rave often is given to the caller over the telephone, but many promoters further