The Spread of Ecstasy Use and Its Relationship with Rave Culture

Throughout the decades, each generation has shared various means of escape from societal pressures. Such escapes from reality often paired illegal substances with music, creating a subculture that gradually became more widespread. A few notorious pairings include the jazz movement of the 1920s and 30s with alcohol, the marijuana use and folk rock of the 1960s, and the disco scene of the 1970s and 1980s which was characterized by widespread cocaine use. Entering the new millennium, a new music scene emerged in the form of all-night dance parties called raves - and the drug of choice is ecstasy. While this drug is used not only by young ravers, but also by other groups, the increased use of ecstasy in the United States has been strongly reinforced by the rave subculture and the ideology associated with that culture.

The now-illegal substance known as ecstasy, scientifically referred to as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), was first created by the German pharmaceutical company E. Merck in 1914. Chemists there hoped to use the substance for the advancement of future therapeutic drug projects (Cloud 2000: 66). Before the United States Drug Enforcement Administration banned the use of ecstasy in 1985, it was legally sold in bars and clubs throughout the U.S., becoming a fairly mainstream drug. The illegalization of the drug coincided with the initial emergence of the U.S. rave scene in the early 1990s, which by that time had already thrived in Britain for a decade. And while the ecstasy-enhancing aspects of the house and techno music played at raves were unintended by its original creators, such music is now highly associated with the E experience (Reynolds 1998: 82-85). Despite government restriction, ecstasy use has continued to grow and is sold not only at clubs and raves but also among high school and college students nationwide. Both the availability and popularity of ecstasy around the country has expanded, while other drugs have become less popular or less widely available to young people. In a survey conducted in 1989, only 22% of high school seniors surveyed felt that they could easily obtain ecstasy, compared to 51% in 2000 (Newsrx.com Jan. 2001).

Many attribute the popularity of MDMA to the fact that its adverse effects are not as easily recognizable as those of other drugs. This is in part because it is still a fairly new drug, and its long-term hazards are still under research. Neuroscientist Dr. George Ricaurte of Johns Hopkins Medical Center has performed tests on E users which he believes reveal irreversible brain damage, and the loss of serotonin receptors. However, this work is inconclusive, and many questions remain about the drug's long-term effects. Probably the most severe short-term effect of ecstasy use in overheating, caused by abnormally high levels of serotonin rushing through the system, which can hinder the body's ability to control temperature. Any emergency room cases of MDMA users usually occurred because the pills people took were cut with other, more potent drugs such as GHB or PMA, which both easily induce hallucinations and heatstroke (Cloud 2000: 67-68). Others point to the fact that E can act as a gateway drug to more dangerous substances like heroin or large amounts of valium, which are sometimes taken to bring down an ecstasy high (Ragavan and Glasser: 1999). The drug's apparent lack of serious danger has helped further its increasingly widespread use among American youth.

Peer groups seem to be the overriding social factor propelling ecstasy use forward, rebelling against authoritative social institutions such as the government, law, community, and family. Ecstasy users usually fall into a few basic social categories, and are mostly found to be teens or twenty-somethings, are predominately white, and of middle to upper-class socioeconomic status. In recent years, E use among high school and college students has risen sharply, in large part because this age group is most likely to be involved in the rave and club scene where ecstasy use is most prevalent (Newsrx.com 2001: 3). Ecstasy use in high school as become increasingly common, and is often reinforced by a teen's peers at raves, parties, and more rarely, in everyday experimentation. Groups of peers use the drug together regularly, even though it is not technically addictive. They objectify this drug use, seeing that others around them are engaging in the same activity, and further justify their behavior by the notion that ecstasy use is harmless fun. As the drug use becomes more ritualized within peer groups, young users internalize what they are doing, and often feel it necessary in order to reproduce the euphoric state to which they have become accustomed. In this way, teens act out the "generalized other" sociological theory, observing and then following the actions of others around them. As one high school student in Georgia put it, "The cliques are pretty big in my school, and every clique does it" (Cloud 2000: 63).

There is also an abundance of MDMA use found on college campuses and fraternity houses across the country, where students come to internalize their drug use in the same way as their high school counterparts - through peer socialization (Cloud 2000: 64). These young adults see little harm in the drug, perhaps especially since more deaths result from alcohol abuse or the use of more potent club drugs. If anything, the drug appears to them to offer more benefits than costs, and is seen as a "hug drug" that promotes empathy and peer understanding. Aside from the seemingly beneficial psychological effects of the drug, a major factor luring young users is peer pressure. Rebelling against expected behaviors and standards set by governmental and community institutions, these students internalize their drug use together. In effect, they create their own communities - groups of users who share similar interests and ideals.

The rave culture introduced in the U.S. in the early 1990s has always gone hand in hand with ecstasy use. The open atmosphere of love and acceptance promoted at all-night techno dance parties serves to buttress one of the main effects of ecstasy; its creation of feelings of trust and empathy. Ravers who take the drug report enjoying an even stronger sense of acceptance and unification with those around them than those who do not consume the drug, and feel a greater urge to socialize. Often referred to as the "hug drug", ecstasy causes feelings of uninhibited emotional outpouring and understanding, demonstrated at raves via hugs, massage, dance, and generating a feeling of togetherness (Reynolds 1998: 84). It is easy to understand why teens and young adults might look to ecstasy and raves as a welcome escape from the pressures and problems of their lives. There is no stratification of social groups nor discrimination to be found at these events. All are welcome, regardless of age, gender, ethnic background, or sexual orientation, and the effects of MDMA help to create this accepting and tolerant atmosphere. In fact, one well-known rave motto is PLUR - peace, love, unity, and respect. Untouched by the social categorization and imposed rules of school, work, and other social institutions, raves provide a sense of community for many. This atmosphere interacts perfectly with the effects of E. One 29 year-old ecstasy user from Indiana notes that during his highs, "People I would never have talked to...I talk to on ecstasy" (Cloud 2000: 66). Young people attempting to escape the pressures of growing up embrace the rave atmosphere all the more for its lack of cliques and social differentiation that they face daily at school and in their surrounding communities. As one raver in Baltimore put it, "Rave is a release from the stress of real life." Longtime rave aficionado and author Simon Reynolds describes ecstasy within the rave context as "both party-igniting fun fuel and the catalyst for ego-melting mass communion". Reynolds goes on to illustrate the unique atmosphere of collective intimacy found at raves, and the way complete strangers are brought together by that environment. Above all, ecstasy is a social drug (1998: 81-83). Those who use it find it that much easier to participate in the mass social interaction that occurs at raves. Rave-goers, especially those on E, experience an almost spiritual sense of social and emotional cohesiveness, causing them to want to repeat their extraordinary experiences again and again. The overwhelmingly positive and accepting atmosphere found at most raves allows ecstasy users to do just that.

In addition to the friendly and open atmosphere of raves, the music, lighting, and paraphernalia complete the rave experience and at the same time enhance the effects of ecstasy. Most people who attend raves, whether taking E or not, dress in bright, flashy flamboyant attire which could often be described as child-like. Typical rave-going fashion statements include bright wigs, beads, glitter, stuffed animal backpacks, costume accessories, and an abundance of fluorescent color. Glowsticks are popular rave items since one's visual perception is heightened by ecstasy, and pacifiers and candy are often used to stave off the teeth-grinding that is a common side effect of the drug. Ravers incorporate bright, flashing lights and often enjoy laser displays tailoring to those under the influence. Surrounding side areas found at rave venues are often used as respites from dancing where drug users can channel their highs into talking or petting friends, both new and old. These break areas are also necessary for ravers on E to prevent overheating, which ecstasy users prone to. Undoubtedly the most dominant E-enhancing feature of raves is the pulse-pounding electronic beats of techno music usually played at these events. Reynolds points out the uniquely synergistic relationship such repetitive, up-tempo music with its "hypnotic beats and sequenced loops" has with the effects of ecstasy. He describes how, unlike other types of music, rave tunes use sound and rhythm to create a unique landscape, and asserts that djs of house and techno music have "developed a drug-determined repertoire...expressly designed to trigger the tingly rushes that traverse the Ecstatic body" (1998: 84-85). In many ways, the different members of the raving community come together to create a type of functionalism, each performing their own role in order for the subculture to run smoothly. Whomever sponsors the rave and provides the venue along with techno-spinning djs, work in synergy with rave-goers, many who are under the influence of E and pay anywhere from $15 to $50 to get in. Several key elements of the rave environment tailor specifically to those high on ecstasy, helping to strengthen their experience.

The rave culture that has developed and continues toward the mainstream in this country is a highly contributing factor in the spread of ecstasy among young people in their teens and twenties. As availability of the drug has increased in American cities and suburbs from Miami to Sacramento, dance parties provide a rare place where ecstasy use is not only promoted, but directly enhanced by its environment. Plus, the relaxed, anything-goes atmosphere works hand in hand with the physiological effects of E. For these reasons, young ecstasy users flock to these meccas that encompass both their drug use and their need for acceptance. Such people find their escape from the pressures and rigid social rules of the outside world in ecstasy, and raves allow them a place to do just that while coming together with others like themselves at the same time. With each new batch of young rebels in this country comes a new music scene and the narcotic that all but defines it. The current generation has come to focus increasingly on club drugs, and ecstasy in particular. Many are ready and willing participants of the rave subculture that embraces their drug of choice.

Bibliography

Cloud, John. "The Lure of Ecstasy". Time Magazine. June 5, 2000.

Newsrx.com, 14 Jan. 2001.Newsrx.com and Newsrx.net. "Ecstasy Use Up Sharply: Use of Other Illegal Drugs Steady, or Declining".

Ragavan, Chitra and Jeff Glasser. "The Danger of Being Young, Hip, and High". US News and World Report. 13 Dec. 1999.

Reynolds, Simon. Generation Ecstasy, Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge, 1999.