anabolic frolic

Sometimes problems do arise at raves, but Roy Chartier says the media should note that far more youths die from alcohol abuse than from using the drug Ecstasy at all-night parties. Above, a recent Montreal rave attracts young patrons in the mood to dance.


Regulating raves

Roy Chartier
The Ottawa Citizen


Monday, July 29, 2002

Re: Council committee cracks down on 'dangerous' raves, July 23.

I am surprised the Citizen would print such unabashed sensationalism.

I attended the committee meeting at city hall, representing the concerns of the Ottawa Promoters Association, a group that has been working with the city and the police since November 2000 in drafting a bylaw regulating all-night dance parties.

The meeting was positive. Council members were constructive in their comments. Indeed, they even commended the promoters for participating in the process.

Your reporter failed to speak to anyone from the Ottawa Promoters Association (OPA), Ottawans Actively Teaching Safety (OATS), or any of the youths attending the meeting. Instead, he chose to focus on the testimony of a youth intervention co-ordinator from the Ottawa police. While I admire and fully support the efforts of the co-ordinator, some of her claims might be difficult to support with available scientific and statistical research.

You owe it to your readership to do a balanced article on all night-dance parties and why they have been so popular, not only in Ottawa, but in the rest of world for the past decade. These parties are about electronic music, dancing and friendship.

Difficulties experienced at these parties are no different, statistically, than those experienced at nightclubs, concerts and festivals. Yet the media continue to sensationalize every rare and unfortunate death due to the drug Ecstasy. At the same time, they fail to report deaths due to alcohol abuse, which sadly occur with a far greater frequency.

The OPA and OATS look forward to continued co-operation with the city. Instead of merely "tolerating" raves as Councillor Diane Deans suggested, the city should be requesting that representatives from these two organizations volunteer to work with the city to develop and execute a community action strategy. The goal should be to provide teens and parents with information on issues such as drug use in a non-judgmental manner, in an effort to avoid harm and reduce risk. Such a strategy would produce measurable results.

Roy Chartier,

Founder, Ottawa Promoters

Association