Dylan Stasiak Source 2

Question: How does the genre of electronic dance music (EDM) relate to rave culture at music festivals?

Hunt, Geoffrey, Molly Moloney, and Kristen Evans. Epidemiology Meets Cultural Studies: Studying and Understanding Youth Cultures, Clubs and Drugs (n.d.): n. pag. Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2 June 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

This article focuses on what kind of drugs are used in the rave scene. The main drugs used since the rave scene became popular is mostly ecstasy (MDMA). It is a little less common but ravers are also taking hallucinogens and smoking marijuana. Because ecstasy is the most common drug used amongst ravers, this is what the article focuses on. The article talks about the pros and cons of ecstasy. MDMA has a lot of long-term effects that can affect your brain such as depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia. MDMA also increases your heart rate and blood pressure and can also cause hyperthermia, dehydration, or the possibility of a seizures or heart or kidney failure. On the contrary, MDMA is a non addictive drug. The reason that so many people are drawn to MDMA is because it gives users enjoyment. The environment of raves and festivals are fun, packed with a lot of people, loud music, friends or lovers, and good times. Ecstasy is used to just make the user get an even better experience at dance event. It is used mostly by young people who attend these raves or festivals. Adolescents are taking these drugs to explore, to have fun, and to enjoy the music.

After learning more about the rave culture, I was looking to find out what kind of drugs ravers and festival-goers use. I found ecstasy is the most common drug used by festival-goers. I also found the positives and negatives of this drug. This source changed my view of drugs being used at festivals. I think that MDMA can be dangerous simply because of its long term effects. Taking ecstasy mostly won’t hurt you in that moment, but in the future, it can really affect your brain and might affect your life. As of right now, I totally support young people exploring themselves and trying new things for fun. I wish there were ways to make it safer to prevent lives being lost.

Both articles I’ve read so far have helped me get a further understanding of rave culture at music festivals. This article wasn’t as broad as the first one. The first article just mentioned the subculture of ravers. This article specifically talked about the drugs being used at festivals. Now, I understand what kind of drugs are being used at concerts and why they’re used. Since so many ravers are taking these drugs, I’m curious about how festivals think about people taking drugs and how people are preventing it or making it safer!