Pubdate: Sat, 16 Aug 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact: http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Deirdre Goldsmith
Page: 17
STOPPING DANCE DEATHS
The Mother of a College Student Who Died at an Electronic Dance Music
Event Stresses the Need for a Harm Reduction Approach
Thank you for your insightful editorial on August 5th, advocating for
a harm reduction approach to drug use at electronic dance music (EDM)
events ("High risk high," Aug. 5). As the mother of a college student
who died of a heat stroke last summer after taking "Molly" at one of
these events, I have come to understand more than I ever cared to
about this issue. But the death of my daughter has made activism an
imperative for me, and I want to see similar tragedies come to an end.
Before my daughter, Shelley Goldsmith, died, I had never heard of
"harm reduction." In a nutshell it means this: Although no one wants
young people to use illegal drugs, it is certain that some will make
that choice anyway. Therefore, we as a society need to adopt a policy
of safety first. In other words, we need to adopt an approach that
reduces the risks and harm associated with drug use immediately while
at the same time we continue to search for ways to keep drugs off the
street and out of the hands of our children.
Shelley was a gifted honors student at the University of Virginia.
She loved life, and before heading off to college had never used
drugs. Unfortunately, like so many young people, she was at that age
where risk-taking activities - like experimenting with alcohol and
drugs - was a part of the youth culture at school.
To change this sort of behavior, nonprofit harm reduction
organizations like the one mentioned in your editorial, DanceSafe,
are critically important to be on hand at all EDM concerts. Not only
do these organizations provide education services to young people who
might try drugs, they can also help venue owners and concert staff
implement safety measures to reduce what has become a national
occurrence at these events - heat stroke medical emergencies.
Please understand this: My daughter took pure MDMA (confirmed by the
medical examiner and toxicologist), but that alone is not what killed
her. It was the conditions inside the concert hall (hot, overcrowded,
constant stream of music for hours on end) that further compounded
that risk. In the end, it was this dangerous multiplication of risks
- - taking Molly in an unsafe environment - that led to the heat stroke
that cut her life short. Had she known the risks, there is no doubt
in my mind that she would never have taken Molly. That's just not who she was.
Shelley's death has two obvious implications. First, heat stroke can
happen to anyone attending these concerts, whether they take drugs or
not, because many of the venues have intrinsic public safety issues
and are often unsafe for their patrons. Second, her death from heat
stroke suggests that she might be alive today had she been educated
about the risks associated with taking MDMA and had the conditions
inside the concert hall been cooler, less crowded, with breaks in the
music and readily available water.
Concert venues make business decisions not to implement common sense
measures that would improve the health and safety of their patrons.
We need to demand that these venues have adequate cooling systems in
place to maintain a healthy ambient temperature under crowded
conditions where their patrons are engaging in aerobic activities
like dancing. We also need to insist that water is accessible and
that regular breaks are built into their music streams. Finally, law
enforcement and fire marshals must be vigilant about enforcing
building capacity regulations to avoid dangers associated with overcrowding.
I have been told that the EDM industry contends that federal law
prevents them from taking measures to protect the safety of their
patrons. If this so, we need to re-examine our laws and change any
regulations that venues might contend deter them from being a setting
that is safe for concert-goers.
Recognizing that drug use occurs in spite of our best efforts and
taking steps to mitigate associated medical emergencies is not the
same thing as encouraging drug use. It is simply recognizing that the
problem exists and taking the necessary steps to keep such risky
behavior from becoming fatal.
Drug-related deaths at these concerts pose a complex issue that must
be addressed from several different angles. We need to continue to
find ways to educate our young people that the best decision is to
not take drugs in the first place. We also need for concert halls to
provide safe settings for their patrons. In the meantime, if our
children do choose to try drugs, then they need to know how best to
reduce the risk and harm from doing so.
Again, this approach doesn't condone drug use. Rather, it is a
realistic and pragmatic way to save lives. As a mom who is trying to
make sense of the death of her daughter, I can only say that it is
simply the right thing to do to protect our developing children.
Deirdre Goldsmith, Abingdon
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom