Pubdate: Wed, 03 May 2000 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada Fax: (780) 468-0139 Website: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/home.html Author: Rachel Evans TEEN RAVES ABOUT HOMEWORK Cops to hold information session on drug, dance culture A dance party regular is raving about an information session set for next week for parents and teens to learn about the dangers of rave drugs. Christie Rutledge, 18, did her own homework on ecstasy and other drugs associated with raves so she'd be able to make an informed decision about what to look out for. The Legal resident thinks other kids should educate themselves on the subject and then decide whether to risk what happened to eight people who collapsed from what cops called drug-related seizures at an April rave in Edmonton. "I think it's a very good idea to let people be aware of what's going on and what could happen," Rutledge said. "It's up to them. I researched all the drugs before I went to my first rave (last year)." And she sticks to bottled water. Capital Health and city police expect to educate about 200 people at the Wednesday meeting at Grant MacEwan College about the dangers of ecstasy, GHB (gamma-hydroxybuthyrate) and Special K (ketamine) to cut down on ravers being sent to the emergency room. "Something quite alarming to me personally is brain swelling," said speaker Dr. Gregg Scheirer, an emergency room physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. "This isn't from people taking a whole pile of stuff, this is from people taking one pill of ecstasy. "People think it's just drug addicts or people taking too much of this stuff that get into trouble and it's not." He noted the other drugs associated with raves can also have dangerous effects. "The (rave drugs) are becoming more popular and that's a concern," said police spokesman Wes Bellmore, adding two officers will share experiences at the talk. "From the police standpoint we'd rather (kids) be educated than arrested." - --- MAP posted-by: Greg