The "Rave" Scene

Information paraphrased from a report by T. Porrata
L.A.P.D. Narcotics (Retired)

     What is a "rave" and where did it come from? The move was from disco to techno. In the mid-1980's raves emerged in the United Kingdom (England) in gay clubs, becoming multi-thousand attendee events and spread to other club environments. English law enforcement identified raves as drug-taking festivals, and took vigorous police action. Even with the  increased enforcement raves still remain a problem. By the late 1980's rave entertainers were in the United States, appearing at clubs in major cities. Music plays an important role and was responsible for bringing the drug Ecstasy (MDMA) into the club scene. Raves in the U.S. today include any site, licensed or not, where the rave music, atmosphere and drugs are found.

     Raves are characterized by loud techno or electronic music, dark environment with laser lighting, pro-drug paraphernalia ( including on site sales of drugs), illicit drugs - MDMA, LSD, GHB, Ketamine, mushrooms, and some conventional drugs. "Ravers" commonly dress in bizarre or "baby" styles of clothing. Massage parlors and cool down rooms are set up to deal with the side effects of some of the drugs. There are generally no "bands", but disk jockeys playing or "making" music with electronic equipment. Depending on how carefully security may be searching at the entrance, which generally is not very knowledgeable or serious in terms of finding drugs, much of the drug sales activities may be conducted in the parking lot or areas outside the main venues.

Raves can be divides into three basic categories:

The Underground Raves:
       This category includes locations from warehouses to the open desert,  without licenses or basic controls. There is no closing time at these underground raves, many plan to attend for up to 14 hours and simply do their drugs, pass out and sleep it off, and then drive home.

The Semi-Underground Rave:
       This includes raves held at fairgrounds, skating rinks, baseball fields, etc. The promoters approach these facilities with the promises that it is just a bunch of kids listening to music and assurances that there will be no alcohol. Typically these facilities are either totally naive and truly believe there will be no alcohol and drugs, or realize it but choose to ignore it, hoping it will not become a problem. This is primarily because these facilities are often struggling financially and just want a chance to make some money.

The Aboveground Rave:
       Tired of the elaborate scheme of trying to "hide" their rave parties in the desert or other off beat locations, more promoters have started edging in on traditional sites in general, such as clubs, bars and restaurants. Needless to say, clubs holding rave, techno venues immediately began experiencing additional problems such as; overcrowding, disruptions in lines for those waiting to get in, and all the problems associated with drug use. Because most of these locations are licensed to serve alcohol and have a mandatory closing time, the rate of drivers under the influence increases.