Substance Abuse and the Rave Scene

Substance Abuse and the Rave Scene

Alvin Sherman Library 4009

This research study deals with substance abuse in the rave scene. A “Rave” is an all night party, usually featuring electronic music as the primary type of music. Basically, there is an enormous amount of controversy surrounding these parties because of the reputation espoused by the media and some government agencies. According to reports from the mass media, drug use by rave party attendees in previous years was extremely high and the prevalence of individuals taking controlled substances at these parties was overwhelming. This study addressed issues pertaining to the prevalence of drug use during raves and how many individuals truly consume controlled substances while attending these all night parties. These issues need to be addressed so that erroneous beliefs about what actually goes on at a rave can be revealed. The goal of this study was to find out whether the numbers of drug users increased, remained the same, or have decreased in prevalence of substance abuse during rave parties. Surveys were given out to college students. They were asked about rave attendance, drug usage during this time and what effect drug usage had on their rave attendance.