Recreational use of drugs in this country is no secret. More and more Americans are being subjected to drugs, often not knowing what they really are.
In 2003, our government passed the Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act, or RAVE act, which allowed any business or person to be prosecuted if they allowed drug use on their property. This clever named act is causing more harm to Americans than it is helping.
The purpose of this bill is “to prohibit an individual from knowingly opening, maintaining, managing, controlling, renting, leasing, making available for use, or profiting from any place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance, and for other purposes."
This act makes many music production companies that host music festivals in a tricky position. Of course they want to abide by the laws put forth so they can continue their music festivals, but they also want their attendees to be safe and minimize the death count.
At this point in time it is not uncommon to have some one pass away at a music festival. In 2013, two people died due to consumption of unknown drugs at Electric Zoo in New York, and six people died in 2014 at Future Music Festival in Asia. This list continues to grow, and more festivals are starting to see deaths.
It makes sense why we have the RAVE act; a lot of people are dying because they are consuming what they thought to be a controlled substance. This act is clearly not working though. There has been an increase of drug-related deaths since it was enacted. Groups and organizations have found a way around this act, and have successfully reduced the amount of harm drugs can do to a festival community.
USC, a Seattle-based EDM event and production organization, has implemented a team of volunteers, called the Conscious Crew, in the events they host. The Conscious Crew is comprised of volunteers from the electronic music community, and they are committed to ensure people's safety at events.
Their main goal is harm reduction. Conscious Crew embodies their message, which states that you should take care of your friends, stay hydrated and know your limits. USC also created a video and a list of how people can promote their message.
These volunteers are not security guards, and they are not there to get anyone in trouble. They roam around in pairs looking for people who need assistance. Each pair carries around water to give to people in need, as well as other essential items like gum, hard candies and even condoms or personal hygiene items.
The Conscious Crew has gotten a lot of positive feedback from the Pacific Northwest rave community. They have set a good example for this community, and more people are starting to take care of their friends and even strangers. People who attend the events Conscious Crew are at often come up to them and thank them.
Other groups like the Bunk Police are seeking to reduce substance harm to festival attendees using a different tactic. The Bunk Police are a “guerrilla” drug-testing group that travels to major music festivals around the world.
Their main goal is to help people find out what is really in the drugs that they are taking. The Bunk Police will bring around 500 drug test kits to each festival they go to. These test kits are similar to the ones that law enforcement uses.
Not all festivals are accepting of the Bunk Police. Most of the time this team has to sneak their drug test kits in. They have been secretly operating at festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo. Due to the RAVE act, it is illegal to recognize any form of drug education, because that is technically promoting the consumption of controlled substances.
Festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo state that they are a drug-free environment, but they are far from that. The longer festivals deny this, the more at risk their attendees become. The Bunk Police are not trying to promote drug use at festivals. They test drugs to educate people and ensure their safety. A lot of people reconsider the consumption of substances after having their drugs tested. In many cases, people find out that they have a completely different drug then what they thought.
The RAVE act needs to change. There is no stopping drug use at music festivals. More and more people are going to consume unknown substances and put themselves at extreme risk. Drug education should be implemented, and drug testing kits need to be instituted.
