Last Friday, Buzz at the club Nation -- Washington, D.C.'s longest running rave dance party -- did not open its doors to the hundreds of D.C.-area electronic music fans as it has for the past nine years. Under police, federal and even military pressure, Buzz was forced to close down. Buzz may only be the first of many nightclub casualties if the Congressional RAVE Act is passed, RAVE being the coinciding acronym for "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy." Congress' main intent in passing the RAVE Act is to curtail the use of the drug ecstasy and other common "rave" drugs. Yet, this measure will do little to solve the problem of drug use in the United States. Moreover, it only will harm fun-seekers and institutions trying to have and provide other people with a good time. Congress should not pass the bill.
A rave is a type of all-night dance party featuring electronic music spun by DJs. Raves are usually held in warehouses or outdoors, and sometimes in clubs. They are organized and advertised by entrepreneurs known as promoters. To be true to fact, some rave-goers abuse substances such as ecstasy. However, the main intent of most people attending a rave is to dance and enjoy the music. The RAVE Act is, in reality, an extension of the "Crack house" Act which seeks to make it a felony for anyone to "manage or control any building, room or enclosure" that distributes drugs. A rave, however, is not a crack house. People at raves are there to dance and have a good time, as opposed to mainly being there with the sole intention of shooting up drugs.
Many parts of the RAVE Act don't apply to what Congress is trying to pass off as a blatant event for the consumption of drugs. Item four of section two of the bill states that "Many rave promoters go to great lengths to try to portray their events as alcohol-free parties... and some even go so far as to hire off-duty, uniformed police officers to patrol outside of the venue to give parents the impression that the event is safe." The next item of the bill goes on to say that this system is a front to cover up the true drug-oriented nature of a rave. Such a statement appears to be rather conflicting, considering that many other legal events hire off-duty police officers to patrol their premises in an effort to keep drugs out.
The RAVE Act also makes mention of the sale of overpriced water, high fees charged to get into a "chill room," and the sale of glow sticks as exploitation of patrons rolling on ecstasy. Congress claims that because ecstasy raises body temperature, ravers on this drug need to try to keep their body temperatures down -- thus being able to "exploit" ravers. Yet practically any club, concert or other entertainment event charges higher than usual prices for water as well as additional fees to get into a more isolated VIP room. However, only raves are being singled out for this type of manipulation of concession prices, as Congress is using it as an indicator of their purported support of drug use. In addition, what Congress has against the sale of glow sticks is open to anyone's interpretation.
Most critically, however, is that Congress would accomplish next to nothing if this bill were to become law. It is true that drug use is often present at raves. But it is drug dealers who sell drugs at raves. The promoters of a rave have nothing to do with selling drugs unless they also are drug dealers, in which case they should be prosecuted as such. However, it is the promoters that are being blamed for providing Americans with drugs by the RAVE Act, simply for being the organizers of a dance party that may feature drug use. By all counts, it is in a promoter's best interest to keep drugs out of an event. According to Amanda Huie, a representative of Buzz's promoter Buzzlife Productions, Buzz had an extensive security presence whereby every patron was searched for drugs. There was even emergency medical personnel on staff.
No matter how hard rave promoters try to keep drugs out, drugs will continue to be sold and used as long as the drug dealers are still out on the streets -- as they will be whether a rave is being held or has been shut down through the RAVE Act.
Instead of unwarranted examination and prosecution of events that are defined as raves, Congress should make laws that shift the focus to the true criminals in this matter: the drug dealers. Because of the RAVE Act, police will be more occupied with shutting down dance parties than getting to the root of the matter and going after the truly illegal drug use inside the party. In addition, because the law will prohibit rave-like events from being featured in legitimate venues -- such as Buzz that was held at a club in Washington, D.C. -- raves will be thrust "underground," so to speak, and it will be much harder for law enforcement to regulate them or the drugs which may be found at such events.
The only thing Congress would accomplish by passing this act would be effectively to put a damper on the entertainment plans of thousands of electronic music fans around the nation. Congress must reevaluate or eliminate this bill and make more effective anti-drug legislation, hopefully retaining the legality of dance parties considered to be raves.
(Alex Rosemblat's column appears
Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at arosemblat@cavalierdaily.com.)
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