in October . . .

The 1st National DanceSafe Conference

A National Caucus on Youth, Raves and Harm Reduction

Saturday, October 21st
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Miami, Florida
At the Wyndam-Biscayne Bay Hotel

In conjunction with the Harm Reduction Coalition, DanceSafe will be hosting a one-day conference at the Wyndham-Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami. The conference will take place the Saturday before the start of the 3rd National Harm Reduction Conference, a yearly event put on by the Harm Reduction Coalition.

In order to reduce dance-related medical emergencies and demonstrate a practical alternative to the "zero-tolerance" approach, DanceSafe is launching a national safe settings campaign in conjunction with the Right To Dance Coalition.

Harm Reduction not Militarization

The location of our first national conference is symbolic in that Florida has been the only state to launch an intensive, military-style crackdown against the youth rave culture. Dubbed "Operation Heat Rave," this Drug War campaign was supposedly undertaken to prevent the use and proliferation of Ecstasy. While criminalizing a vibrant and healthy youth dance culture (and incurring a number of class action lawsuits in the process), it did nothing, however, to slow down the use of Ecstasy. Since Operation Heat Rave, Ecstasy use has risen dramatically across the entire country.

Criminalizing a popular youth culture and sending thousands of young people through the criminal justice system will do no one any good. This conference will discuss how utilizing a harm reduction model to deal with the the problems associated with drug use among youth (a model already adopted in England and Europe) is a practical and effective alternative to the military-style tactics used in Florida.

Drug use is a public health issue and requires a public health response.

Sponsors of the conference:

1. The Harm Reduction Coalition, a national non-profit public health organization whose mission is to help individuals and communities reduce drug-related harm.
2. DanceSafe, a non-profit, harm reduction organization promoting health and safety within the rave and nightclub community.

Issues Addressed

Current media blitz surrounding dance drugs and dance drug-related deaths; Myths surrounding dance drugs and raves; Pharmacology and effects of club drugs; Legal implications of possessing these illegal substances, rights and responsibilities of users, club owners and rave organizers; Peer education; How harm reduction can be applied in a club or rave setting.

You Are Invited To:

Learn more about harm reduction practice and how it may apply to local and national conditions; Assist in the dissemination of national research on harm reduction issues through local and community and raver/night club networks; Help raise national awareness about dance drugs and raves, services and research related to drug sue and drug-related harm; Help build collaborative relationships between ravers, dance drug users, club owners, rave organizers, students, families, community members, police and fire departments, and public officials; Strategize with activist and policy makers on addressing specific local/national causes of drug-related harm.

For More Information Contact:

Amu Ptah, Caucus Chair
Harm Reduction Coalition
212-683-2334 ext.32
email: ptah@harmreduction.org
website: www.harmreduction.org or www.dancesafe.org

AGENDA (DRAFT)

10:00 - 11:30 Panel Discussion "Club Drugs, Raves, Youth and Harm Reduction," Moderated by Amu Ptah, Harm Reduction Coalition "Discussing DanceSafe," Emanuel Sferios, DanceSafe "Community Organizing," Adam Smith, DanceSafe "Raver's Perspective," Erin Lewis, Otto Lam, TRIP "Political work in Toronto," Kim Stanford and Sandy Watters, Toronto Dance Safety Committee and the Party People Project "Legal Issues," Alicia Young, ACLU

11:30 - 12:15 Questions & Answers

1:30 - 3:00 Multi-media Ecstasy presentation - Emanuel Sferios, DanceSafe

3:15 - 4:45 Workshops

"How to Apply Harm Reduction in a Club Setting, Peer Education," Theo Rosenfeld, DanceSafe; Erin Lewis and Otto Lam, TRIP "An Introduction to Commonly Used Dance Drugs," TBA "Organizing Rave Communities Politically," Kim Stanford, Toronto Dance Safety Committee and Sandy Watters, Party People Project "Raver's Forum" "Health & Safety Issues," Phil Coffin & Miami Fire Dept.

4:30 - 5:00 PRESS CONFERENCE - IN A SEPARATE PART OF THE HOTEL

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