Make Sense, Not War: Ravers talk About Drug Law Enforcement

In the summer of 2007, a field project on rave parties, ravers, and drug use was carried out in Cyprus. The project included twenty in-depth interviews with individuals who frequently attend rave parties (snowball sampling). The purpose of these interviews was to understand the attitudes, perceptions, motivations & behaviors of young people who go to rave parties, especially with respect to the use of synthetic drugs. This paper mainly focuses on views expressed by the participants with respect to the role of the police in the control of drug use in places of entertainment. Specific observations, opinions & arguments about current law enforcement practices & about the relationship between law enforcement, drug education & media content are discussed. According to the participants, current law enforcement is disproportionately aggressive & selective while drug education is dogmatic rather than informative. This results in lack of trust to the state by ravers & other drug users, making any prevention and harm reduction policies ineffective.