Group promoting safer raves offers free testing for illegal drugs

[neversickanymore]

Group promoting safer raves offers free testing for illegal drugs
Lindsay Watts
Oct 2, 2014



DENVER - A teenager who nearly died after taking what she thought was the drug "Molly" at a Denver rave, is bringing attention to the dangers of synthetic drugs, which are popular at raves and concerts.

It's something some club and concert promoters are reluctant to talk about.

"It's easier just to not address it, and say, 'This is a zero tolerance drug free event,'" said Missi Wooldridge, executive director of Dance Safe.

Wooldridge says her goal is getting the conversation started. Dance Safe aims to be in attendance at electronic music events to provide free water, earplugs, condoms, information about illegal drugs, and more controversial: safe snorting straws and free drug testing, where partiers can find out what's in the pill or powder they're about to take.

"When someone comes to us and the test they receive isn't MDMA, it's not what they thought it was, nine times out of 10, right in front of my eyes, I watch them throw it out or choose not to use it," Wooldridge said.

She said it's not about condoning or condemning drug use, but providing education that could be enough to change someone's mind.

"The intent of this is not to provide a false sense of security," Wooldridge said. "Every drug contains inherent risks and no drug is ever safe."

The concept obviously isn't without controversy, and some promoters just say no to Dance Safe.

That was the case at Skylab XX at the Denver Coliseum, the rave where 17-year-old Bianca Garten took the Molly that nearly killed her.

"We actually don't know what it was," Garten told 7NEWS after 11 days in the hospital. "It could've been pipe cleaner, it could've been bath salts."

The organizers of the event, attended by about 10,000, said it denied Dance Safe's request to attend.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy in regards to illegal substances," said Adrien Mirhashemi, with Global Dance/Triad Dragons Entertainment. "While education should be the the cornerstone for drug prevention, current laws deter from prevention measures. Many public venues don't allow organizations like Dance Safe because it conflicts with the RAVE Act and would make the venue liable for condoning drug use."

The RAVE Act is a federal law passed in 2003, in part to hold club venues liable for drug use by their patrons.

Continued Here with Vid clip http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...offers-free-testing-for-illegal-drugs10022014

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More great work by Dancesafe!!

Here is also an organization that is attempting to have the harmful Rave act amended. www.amendtheraveact.org

 

[MagickalKat777]

Lmao! Anyone that knows anything about the Denver scene knows the real reason they won't allow testing to occur - they would get busted selling bunk shit to the people who bought their tickets. The scene here is controlled by a select few and they also happen to be the same people behind the drugs that get doled out at their raves.

Good on DanceSafe for trying but this has been tried in Colorado before and didn't end well last time either.

 

[Si Dread]

You people should vote with your feet. A couple months of small house parties, gigs & general boycotting of big events will bring promoters to their knees.

Demand drugs testing at your events, deny your custom to promoters who refuse drugs testing groups!

 

[Dresden]

It's hard to up set an ecstasy testing booth at a party where an off duty police officer is the security guard, unless he stays at the front door the whole time anyway.

 

[Jabberwocky]

It's hard to up set an ecstasy testing booth at a party where an off duty police officer is the security guard, unless he stays at the front door the whole time anyway.

True, although a lot depends on locals laws, of which I know next to nothing of in that area tbh.

While still organized, going about it in a slightly less overt way would easily address this problem. They'd have to do a lot of that anyways, going out to visit people I mean, to have a big impact anyways. They could have a booth/tent/chill space to gather awareness about their "efforts" while providing stuff like water, gum, magnesium, whatever and serve up information about shit people pass off as mdma, while having a whole other team of individuals/small groups going around chatting and doing their thing and getting their hands dirty with other individuals and groups of people - not to mention dealers if they're open to it. I'd be honestly more worried about drug dealers than the cops in such a setting, but such is the life, and in such public places this issue can also be mitigated with the right steps according to the situation/environment.

Just a thought. Seen it done before.