Research Log #5

Name: Gelsey Manipon

Date: 3 October 2016
EQ: How can the Dance scene and EDM culture be beneficial for community members?
Three Points to Prove:
#1: Gloving is not bad. Gloving is an art form and a way of expression.
#2: Not all EDM fans are druggies. Drug use is an evolving part of the culture for some EDM fans.
#3: The EDM community is not harmful. It can be a great support for those in the community.
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Point that this Source Proves: # 2: Not all EDM fans are druggies. Drug use is an evolving part of the culture for
some EDM fans.
Excerpts (Include three embedded quotes.):
For fans, EDM isnt just about the music, its about the moment. Its a sensory experience of music, lights, dancing,
and often, drugs. Stephanie, 26, Molly makes you so incredibly aware of happinessit heightens my sense of
touch to a level thats almost meditative.
Anna Schumacher explains, In 2002, then-Senator Joe Biden introduced a bill known as the Reducing Americans
Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act. It subjects any organization or individual seen as maintaining a druginvolved premises to fines up to $250,000.
Our society is trained to think the only answer is zero tolerance, says Missi Woolridge. However, weve never
had a completely drug-free society, and its unrealistic to think thats attainable.
Commentary and Analysis (Explain how the quotes above prove one of your three points.):
EDM has grown exponentially in the past years; its become a global phenomenon. It attracts the youth
with its glittering lights, hard hitting bass beats, and ability to just make you want to get up and dance. The scariest
thing about this suddenly popularity is the presence MDMA otherwise known as Molly or ecstasy in the EDM
scene. Users take it to enhance the already amazing feelings that EDM invokes but the tricky thing with ecstasy is
that buyers often dont know what inside that Molly whether it is pure MDMA or mixed among other things.
DanceSafe is nonprofit group whose mission is to educate people about the drugs theyre consuming and testing
drugs for the components theyre made.
Unfortunately due RAVE Act introduced by then-Senator (now Vice President) Joe Biden inhibits festivals
from allowing DanceSafe at their events because would mean (God forbid) acknowledging the fact that drug use is a
problem within their festival (which it is, I dont see the point in trying to deny the fact any longer with all the
hospital visits and drug-related fatalities). The first step in attempting to jump over a hurdle is to know that a hurdle
exists. Brian Tamke, festival director of ID&T (produces Mysteryland) admits that the RAVE Act influences the
decisions on what services (DanceSafe) will be allowed at the festival. You dont need to be a drug user to feel the
effects of the consequences of not knowing what do to when taking MDMA. Dede Goldsmiths daughter Shelley
Goldsmith died from a heat stroke (caused by taking an MDMA and dancing for hours on end in a sweaty, hot club)
and she advocates for Congress to adjust the RAVE Act so people can get the knowledge they need to stay safe at
raves.
Drug use has existed even before EDM had become a thing and there wont be such thing as a drug-free
America. But that doesnt mean we, as fellow Americans, cant save existing users a visit to the hospital and help
them know just what it is that they bought from the shady guy hanging around in the corner. If there is to be a
decrease in drug-related fatalities and hospital visits, there needs to be prevention methods that people can have
access to. If you cant stop the people (from doing drugs) and you dont want to join them then help them. So they
dont become a statistic in drug-related anything.
Works Cited (Use correct MLA format.):

Schumacher, Anna. Party On Safety?. Cosmopolitan. 260.4 (2016): 124 MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Oct.
2016.
I assume that this is a reputable and reliable article becauseit was published in Cosmopolitan Magazine, a hip
mag.