chrisisparanoid
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 20, 2004
- Messages
- 258
3pm and the drugs are out
05-dec-04
IT was just passed 3pm and already youths were showing off the drugs they planned to take at Enchanted 2004 Rave at Port Gawler last night – including potentially fatal Ecstasy tablets.
As hundreds began arriving for the party, no one seemed the slightest bit fazed at the presence of security officers – and a handful of police.
"It's a culture, it's tribal, it's what we do," said one man in his early 20s.
A young girl, Belinda, was equally blase.
"The thing that I hate is that we're always shown to be a bunch of dropkicks who just take drugs, but it's not all about taking drugs, it's about the culture," she said.
"I'm sick to death of being told that drugs are the worst thing that you can do to yourself – more people die in road accidents."
Belinda, a regular raver, arrived at the rave party site just after the gates opened.
Within hours, the site – 45km north of the city – was convulsing the the sound of music and flashing of lights which continued into the early hours of this morning.
"We drove up in a car convoy from Adelaide," Belinda said.
"There were about 30 of us."
Belinda said her drugs of choice for the show were a Red Crown, a Pink Split and a Green Dove, all various forms of Ecstasy.
She said taking recreational drugs added to the rave experience, "hyping up" users and giving them plenty of energy.
The old dirt bike race track had been transformed into an outdoor party-fest, with five individual stages, dance floors, lights, speakers, and stands selling food, drinks and memorabilia of Enchanted 2004.
RAH research fellow Dr David Caldicott, who has been outspoken about pill-testing at these events as a "harm-minimisation" tactic, took a team of 16 medicos and emergency department nurses to the venue last night.
But while he wasn't given permission to test the potency of pills, Dr Caldicott conducted surveys, with ravegoers providing information relating to their drug use habits.
In the first two hours, 200 were filled out with Dr Caldicott saying that people were also signing petitions supporting pill-testing.
"I'm concerned that people won't have a good time, won't enjoy their night and I think these kids continue to be misundertood," he said.
"I think just because it's a rave, there will be drugs there but whether these kids were at home, at a club, or in Adelaide, that's what these group of peope will be doing.
"And, of course, I am concerned but we'll do what we can to prevent any one from being hurt."
Organiser Daniel Michael said people attended Enchanted raves as an "alternative experience".
"I'm not surprised by all the criticism but I think it's because of a lack of information with people not knowing what the situation is so they make things up," he said.
"Give me an example of any event where people are not going to use drugs.
"We've never had a death before." All cars entering the site were checked by security staff, for "illicit" weapons and alcohol.
With Royal Adelaide Hospital on standby for overdoses, SA Ambulance paramedics monitored the rave, with crews at the venue until until 7am Sunday.
"For us this is like any major event, it's no different," intensive care paramedic Dave Tingey said.
"We've been involved closely with the organisers and they've been very supportive of us being here."
Mr Tingey said the paramedics were prepared for any overdoses.
"We see it every weekend in the city so it's nothing different to what we normally do," he said.
"For us, it's business as usual."
The Red Cross volunteer group, Save-A-Mate, was also at the event.
Another raver, James, 21, said he was confident he would never overdose from drugs - despite taking three different forms of Ecstasy and carrying a small bag of racehorse anaesthetic Ketamine, or Special K
Another raver, 21-year-old Natalie, brought six tablets with her.
"I'll take them or I might swap them with someone else," she said. Natalie said she wasn't worried about the publicity surrounding recreational drugs and recent overdoses, resulting in deaths. "I've tested them all," she said. "You just buy a pill-testing kit and take a scraping and it it turns a different colour."
edit: added the bit about them talking about the "racehorse anaesthtic" which was in the printed version but not online.
05-dec-04
IT was just passed 3pm and already youths were showing off the drugs they planned to take at Enchanted 2004 Rave at Port Gawler last night – including potentially fatal Ecstasy tablets.
As hundreds began arriving for the party, no one seemed the slightest bit fazed at the presence of security officers – and a handful of police.
"It's a culture, it's tribal, it's what we do," said one man in his early 20s.
A young girl, Belinda, was equally blase.
"The thing that I hate is that we're always shown to be a bunch of dropkicks who just take drugs, but it's not all about taking drugs, it's about the culture," she said.
"I'm sick to death of being told that drugs are the worst thing that you can do to yourself – more people die in road accidents."
Belinda, a regular raver, arrived at the rave party site just after the gates opened.
Within hours, the site – 45km north of the city – was convulsing the the sound of music and flashing of lights which continued into the early hours of this morning.
"We drove up in a car convoy from Adelaide," Belinda said.
"There were about 30 of us."
Belinda said her drugs of choice for the show were a Red Crown, a Pink Split and a Green Dove, all various forms of Ecstasy.
She said taking recreational drugs added to the rave experience, "hyping up" users and giving them plenty of energy.
The old dirt bike race track had been transformed into an outdoor party-fest, with five individual stages, dance floors, lights, speakers, and stands selling food, drinks and memorabilia of Enchanted 2004.
RAH research fellow Dr David Caldicott, who has been outspoken about pill-testing at these events as a "harm-minimisation" tactic, took a team of 16 medicos and emergency department nurses to the venue last night.
But while he wasn't given permission to test the potency of pills, Dr Caldicott conducted surveys, with ravegoers providing information relating to their drug use habits.
In the first two hours, 200 were filled out with Dr Caldicott saying that people were also signing petitions supporting pill-testing.
"I'm concerned that people won't have a good time, won't enjoy their night and I think these kids continue to be misundertood," he said.
"I think just because it's a rave, there will be drugs there but whether these kids were at home, at a club, or in Adelaide, that's what these group of peope will be doing.
"And, of course, I am concerned but we'll do what we can to prevent any one from being hurt."
Organiser Daniel Michael said people attended Enchanted raves as an "alternative experience".
"I'm not surprised by all the criticism but I think it's because of a lack of information with people not knowing what the situation is so they make things up," he said.
"Give me an example of any event where people are not going to use drugs.
"We've never had a death before." All cars entering the site were checked by security staff, for "illicit" weapons and alcohol.
With Royal Adelaide Hospital on standby for overdoses, SA Ambulance paramedics monitored the rave, with crews at the venue until until 7am Sunday.
"For us this is like any major event, it's no different," intensive care paramedic Dave Tingey said.
"We've been involved closely with the organisers and they've been very supportive of us being here."
Mr Tingey said the paramedics were prepared for any overdoses.
"We see it every weekend in the city so it's nothing different to what we normally do," he said.
"For us, it's business as usual."
The Red Cross volunteer group, Save-A-Mate, was also at the event.
Another raver, James, 21, said he was confident he would never overdose from drugs - despite taking three different forms of Ecstasy and carrying a small bag of racehorse anaesthetic Ketamine, or Special K
Another raver, 21-year-old Natalie, brought six tablets with her.
"I'll take them or I might swap them with someone else," she said. Natalie said she wasn't worried about the publicity surrounding recreational drugs and recent overdoses, resulting in deaths. "I've tested them all," she said. "You just buy a pill-testing kit and take a scraping and it it turns a different colour."
edit: added the bit about them talking about the "racehorse anaesthtic" which was in the printed version but not online.
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