Ranting and Raving: The low-down on Rave culture By: Malaika Carpenter Remember when Friday night usually meant lounging on the couch, watching sappy movies, and eating ice cream? Now it is easy to be influenced by a colorful flyer advertising an all-night rave at a location nearby. So dressed in your best threads, you attend the rave with a few of your friends. You seem to fit right in with the young crowd dressed in colorful tops and baggy jeans, some with candy necklaces, glow sticks, and tons of glitter. Inside, the diversified crowd dances to the loud, pounding music; some energized by illegal substances such as Ecstasy. The concession stand seems to cater to the Ecstasy users by providing pacifiers, for soothing teeth grinding, lollipops and water or juice to prevent dehydration. The fact that no alcohol is served creates a calm, sedate atmosphere. The hours of dancing and socializing set you back twenty dollars, but it is well spent for admission to a cure for the typical Friday night soporific activities. The Rave Culture has become immensely popular since it began in the late 1980s when crowds gathered at vacant buildings to dance and indulge in drug use. But today, rave promoters are taking precautions to ensure the safety of rave-goers. Now, most raves are in legal venues, either indoors or outdoors, with the absence of alcohol and drugs; and these additions have helped garner public approval. On the other hand, drug users attending raves can easily hide drugs in their shoes or even underwear. The recent increase of rave-goers using designer drugs such as ecstasy and mushrooms has police concerned, due to the potential of accidents or death. After speaking with G-house productions, a rave promotional group located in Vancouver, Canada, via e-mail, they argued that , "There is not an increase, but a decrease in drugs at raves." They added, "Summerlove (a rave that they promote currently) had 13,000 participants and no overdoses." Nevertheless, despite its harmful effects, the use of the designer drug ecstasy has become appealing to young adults under thirty due to its feelings of comfort, closeness to others, and the energy to dance all night. However, young ecstasy users fail to see the harm of the drug that generates no hangovers or physical cravings. The truth is that these pills (selling at street prices of $20 to $40) can cause dehydration, hyponatremia (drinking too much water), unsafe sex, and brain damage from frequent use. The problem with raves is that too often they are all grouped into one category, often described as dangerous and even deadly. Yet, not all raves are harmful. There are safe raves that offer teens a way to enjoy music and dance. Often, the negative portrayal of raves by the media can disregard positive aspects of these events. G-house production promoters explain that there are two types of raves, illegal and legal. They add that they are a legal rave promotional agency and theirs experience less problems than illegal raves. In other words, they are safe for teens to enjoy and burn some energy on the dancefloor. "But most people do not know the difference and the media has lumped us all together," say promoters of G-house production. Rave promoters are young entrepreneurs eager to make large amounts of money. Sounds fun, right?---Wrong. Imagine throwing a party for 3000 to 10,000 people! This job requires long strenuous hours of making phone calls and running errands in hopes that people come out and have a good time. "You can make a career out of promoting, but more people fail than succeed," says owner, Azim, of Twisted Production in Vancouver. Rave promoters not only take great financial risks, but place their reputations on the line as well. If a rave promoter makes a mistake or their party goes wrong, people take it has a personal statement of a rave promoters’ character. For this reason so many rave promoters fail. For those that take the job seriously, they must have great dedication and hard work. Most rave promoter would agree that the rewarding aspect of planning a rave is watching everyone have a good time. Rave culture is new and increasingly popular among teenagers. Though some non-drug users attend raves, there is usually a portion of using or selling drugs. Therefore, teenagers must be aware of the risks of attending a rave. G-house productions promoters say, "[People] deserve at least one night a year to enjoy themselves."