Pubdate: Mon, 27 Nov 2000
Source: Capital Times, The  (WI)
Copyright: 2000 The Capital Times
Contact:  http://www.thecapitaltimes.com/
Author: Jason Shepard

RAVE GROUP AIMS TO MAKE DRUG USE SAFER FOR YOUTHS

A small group of Madison rave lovers is moving forward with a
controversial project aimed at helping young people make informed
decisions about drugs.

The group, which named itself Euphoric, was started in February by
Carissa Cornwell, 20. It scraps the "Just say no'' approach to drugs
and replaces it with what it calls "harm reduction.''

While trying to both distance the rave culture from rampant drug use
and acknowledge that drugs -- in particular Ecstasy -- are quite
common, the group is reacting to growing concern over drug overdoses
and deaths across the country that have been linked to the all-night
dance parties.

A report released today by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America,
based on a survey of 7,290 seventh-through 12th-graders nationwide,
found that Ecstasy use has doubled among teens since 1995, and that
one in 10 teens has experimented with Ecstasy, also known as MDMA
(methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine).

A 16-year-old Madison boy, Brett Zweifel, died from what authorities
say was an Ecstasy overdose on Sept. 11 after attending a rave at the
Barrymore Theatre. The death thrust the local rave scene into the
spotlight and the Alliant Energy Center has decided to, at least
temporarily, stop booking raves and techo dances.

All of this, from testing Ecstasy pills to make sure they're not fake
to dealing with the new public scrutiny, was the subject of a workshop
Sunday at Cornwell's apartment.

The workshop was conducted by Emanuel Sferios, founder of a
controversial national nonprofit group called Dancesafe.

Sferios discussed strategies for improving the perception of raves and
talked about recent problems with law enforcement and media scrutiny.
But the group's main focus was on harm reduction strategies to make
drug use safer.

"We want to fight the notion that raves are all about drugs,'' said
Sferios, 31, a former social worker. "But we can't deny that drugs do
exist. Young people like to use drugs when they go and party.''

Sferios has become a national figure in the rave culture and has
appeared on ABC's "20/20'' and CBS' "60 Minutes'' talking about
Ecstasy use.

Dancesafe and the Madison-based Euphoric preach a practical approach
to drug use and suggest that if people are going to use drugs, they
should do so responsibly.

Among the most pressing issues is ensuring that users know which drugs
they are taking and what might happen if they mix drugs.

Dancesafe sells pill-testing kits in which a person can scrape a flake
from a pill and use a chemical agent to test for the presence of
Ecstasy. The test kits have become popular at raves around the country
in wake of reports that fake pills have been sold and linked to deaths.

Just Saturday night, Sferios said he tested a pill at a Chicago rave
that contained PMA, a dangerous compound that has been sold as Ecstasy.

"The kids at raves are getting younger and younger,'' said Tom
Billingsley, 19. "And a lot of them think they're invincible.''

"In the last few years, it seems the drug use has gotten more open,''
said Jason Jochem, 18. "And it's a lot of younger kids who are taking
whatever they can because their friends are doing it.''

Some of those at Sunday's workshop said they got involved in the rave
sub-culture by getting high and dancing weekends away with hundreds of
other young people -- many of them attracted to the rave world for its
unquestioned acceptance.

"You can walk into a rave without anyone and leave eight hours later
with 20 new friends,'' Cornwell said.

The drugs got old after a while, they said, but they continued to love
the music and the people at raves.

In the wake of Zweifel's death, the county's drug task force has
beefed up its presence at Alliant Energy Center raves.

At a Nov. 11 event that organizers say drew more than 8,000 people,
law enforcement officers arrested 26 people on drug charges. The event
also drew 12 ambulance calls for overdoses, organizers said.

Some at the meeting Sunday said that if Alliant Energy Center raves
are halted, raves will go underground and be potentially more dangerous.

Drug use at those events would undoubtedly be more rampant in a less
controlled environment, Cornwell and others said.

Sferios said that to be effective, harm reduction advocates must take
a neutral approach to drug use and not condemn those who use. The goal
should be to encourage safety and knowledge, he said.
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