OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/12 07:32Just a question for the intelligent minds here at alt.rave. Yesterday, here in Orlando, FL, a car was hit by a train and 2 gentlemen were unfortunately killed. Eyewitness reports indicate that people were yelling at the 2 men to get out of the car as the train was approaching but they seemed to be frozen in their places. Please discard the possibility that these 2 men were committing suicide; I have heard about this "phenomenon" before, and it usually occurs during train/car accidents. My question is this: is there a scientific term for this "phenomenon" (of becoming immobile during circumstances of immanent death/destruction)? Does anyone have any knowledge of this occurring during other accidents/tragedies? I`m not trying to bring the mood of the group down, but I do find this subject quite intriguing from a medical/psychological standpoint.
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/12 12:21This is very important. Very. Remember back when we got a warning concerning bill HR-3782? It was going after raves in a big way, suggesting up to nine years in prison for those who operated entertainment events where drugs could be assumed to be present. Everybody mobilized and wrote their Representatives and it looks like the bill is dead. It`s been sitting in a subcommittee since February. So, yay us. Good job everyone. However, our work is far from over. Recently introduced into the Senate was the bill S-2633 aka the "RAVE Act". This one looks like its moving pretty fast. It`s already cleared the Judiciary Committee the SAME DAY it was referred there and WITHOUT AMENDMENT. It is already scheduled for a vote, just two weeks after it was introduced. That scares me a *lot*. I have only included the juicy bits here, since it`s typically long-winded. The full text can be read here: The bill`s author has said that any legitimate entertainment promoter has nothing to worry about and that the bill targets drugs, not promoters. Since I can *read* I know that he`s lying. Anyway, see for yourself: -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Reducing Americans` Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act of 2002` or the `RAVE Act`. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Each year tens of thousands of young people are initiated into the drug culture at `rave` parties or events (all-night, alcohol-free dance parties typically featuring loud, pounding dance music). (2) Some raves are held in dance clubs with only a handful of people in attendance. Other raves are held at temporary venues such as warehouses, open fields, or empty buildings, with tens of thousands of people present. (3) The trafficking and use of `club drugs`, including 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy or MDMA), Ketamine hydrochloride (Ketamine), Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), and Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GH, is deeply embedded in the rave culture. (4) Many rave promoters go to great lengths to try to portray their events as alcohol-free parties that are safe places for young adults to go to dance with friends, 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. (5) Despite such efforts to convince parents that raves are safe, promotional flyers with slang terms for Ecstasy or pictures of Ecstasy pills send the opposite message to teenagers, and in effect promote Ecstasy along with the rave. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, raves have become little more than a way to exploit American youth. (6) Because rave promoters know that Ecstasy causes the body temperature in a user to rise and as a result causes the user to become very thirsty, many rave promoters facilitate and profit from flagrant drug use at rave parties or events by selling over-priced bottles of water and charging entrance fees to `chill-rooms` where users can cool down. (7) To enhance the effects of the drugs that patrons have ingested, rave promoters sell-- associated with Ecstasy. (8) Ecstasy is the most popular of the club drugs associated with raves. Thousands of teenagers are treated for overdoses and Ecstasy-related health problems in emergency rooms each year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that Ecstasy mentions in emergency visits grew 1,040 percent between 1994 and 1999. (9) Ecstasy damages neurons in the brain which contain serotonin, the chemical responsible for mood, sleeping and eating habits, thinking processes, aggressive behavior, sexual function, and sensitivity to pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this can lead to long-term brain damage that is still evident 6 to 7 years after Ecstasy use. (10) An Ecstasy overdose is characterized by an increased heart rate, hypertension, renal failure, visual hallucinations, and overheating of the body (some Ecstasy deaths have occurred after the core body temperature of the user goes as high as 110 degrees, causing all major organ systems to shutdown and muscles to breakdown), and may cause heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. [skip a bit] SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR A DEMAND REDUCTION COORDINATOR. There is authorized to be appropriated $5,900,000 to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice for the hiring of a special agent in each State to serve as a Demand Reduction Coordinator. SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR DRUG EDUCATION. There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice to educate youth, parents, and other interested adults about the drugs associated with raves. -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- Please everyone note that this bill includes the allocation of funds ($5.9 million to be precise) in order to hire special DEA agents to enforce the new law. Yes, the DEA would officially have an "Anti-Rave" wing, if one were to wish to call it that. So, I hope I don`t even have to say it, but... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! If you are a U.S. citizen (or know someone who is) make a big noise about this bill. Call everybody you know. We have to stop this. Tomorrow is Independence Day and I`ve never in my life been more afraid that our government just doesn`t work anymore. Please help prove me wrong and show that the peoples` voice still has some importance. You can look up your legislators here (from the sidebar): Keep shinin`, Stan
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/12 20:27Yeah I read about this earlier. I wonder why the government never enacted a "Reducing Americans Vulnerability to the Grateful Dead" Act, a "Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Phish" Act, or a "Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Snoop-Doggy-Dogg" Act? I mean all of those acts have the reputation for being proponents of drug use. I really don`t care to get into a political debate with anyone as I am neither a Democrat, nor a Republican, but I have to ask one question: One of the key points in the Republican agenda is "Less Government"; however, they want to appropriate $5.9M to send DEA agents to raves? And don`t be mistaken folks, that figure could easily increase by the millions if promoters *are* held liable and are sent in front of a judge...because we, as citizens of the United States will have to pay for the prosecution of those promoters with more of our tax dollars. Just remember, no matter what your views on drugs are, this bill is targeting the wrong people. If those that use/abuse drugs wish to do so given the risks that they face both in health and in the eyes of the law, then they should be the only ones that are punished...not the hard-working folks that spend countless hours organizing, funding, and promoting music events. -Joe "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/13 02:20Well, well, well...upon further research I have found out that the following are the sponsors and co-sponsors of S-2633: Sponsor:
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/13 10:11people try drugs for the first time. Most people I know who take drugs didn`t take them for the first time at a rave. evident. People are hardly likely to go to a yankees game to score club drugs are they? I bet. How many thousands of overdoses are there? Lack of references or meaningful statistics here. to support this, and indeed studies exist that suggest the opposite. Most suggest that neuron damage only occurs with frequent heavy use. of the characteristics of an alcohol overdose and the comparative rates for the 2 would be of interest. money. Land of the free... my arse!!! Good luck guys - but I don`t like your chances. The US is rapidly becoming the backward little brother to Europe when it comes to harm reduction and drug education policies. Perhaps the Mafia are behind it so they can recapture some of the power they had during the last period of prohibition in the US
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/13 12:37Fighting the war on terrorism? Don`t you know, ravers are terrorists! That`s what the anti-drug commercials would have us believe.
Re:OT: Stan, maybe you know the answer? - 2006/06/13 21:21The Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund (EMEF) has a page up concerning this bill now. You can read the bill and some remarks from the Senators who wrote it. Take a look at: They mention that the bill could be voted on as soon as July 8th. That`s Monday! Everyone please call your Senators on Monday and urge them to vote "No!" Keep shinin`, Stan
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, is deeply embedded in the rave culture. (4) Many rave promoters go to great lengths to try to portray their events as alcohol-free parties that are safe places for young adults to go to dance with friends, 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. (5) Despite such efforts to convince parents that raves are safe, promotional flyers with slang terms for Ecstasy or pictures of Ecstasy pills send the opposite message to teenagers, and in effect promote Ecstasy along with the rave. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, raves have become little more than a way to exploit American youth. (6) Because rave promoters know that Ecstasy causes the body temperature in a user to rise and as a result causes the user to become very thirsty, many rave promoters facilitate and profit from flagrant drug use at rave parties or events by selling over-priced bottles of water and charging entrance fees to `chill-rooms` where users can cool down. (7) To enhance the effects of the drugs that patrons have ingested, rave promoters sell-- associated with Ecstasy. (8) Ecstasy is the most popular of the club drugs associated with raves. Thousands of teenagers are treated for overdoses and Ecstasy-related health problems in emergency rooms each year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that Ecstasy mentions in emergency visits grew 1,040 percent between 1994 and 1999. (9) Ecstasy damages neurons in the brain which contain serotonin, the chemical responsible for mood, sleeping and eating habits, thinking processes, aggressive behavior, sexual function, and sensitivity to pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this can lead to long-term brain damage that is still evident 6 to 7 years after Ecstasy use. (10) An Ecstasy overdose is characterized by an increased heart rate, hypertension, renal failure, visual hallucinations, and overheating of the body (some Ecstasy deaths have occurred after the core body temperature of the user goes as high as 110 degrees, causing all major organ systems to shutdown and muscles to breakdown), and may cause heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. [skip a bit] 
EF) has a page up concerning this bill now. You can read the bill and some remarks from the Senators who wrote it. Take a look at: 
