MDMA-Related Deaths: Stop Calling Them Overdoses

On June 21st, 24-year old Montgomery Tsang of San Leandro, California collapsed and died after attending Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. Tsang had a heart condition. Yet despite the coroner citing “cardiac enlargement” as a “significant condition” contributing to his death, the LA Times chose to call the death an “ecstasy overdose.” Did Tsang take too much MDMA? Maybe. We don’t know. But MDMA can cause death at normal or even low doses for a person who has an enlarged heart, a fact the LA Times neglected to mention.

July 10, 2014Read more...

Avicii Hospitalizations Underscore Heatstroke Risk

We recently learned that 36 people were hospitalized last night while attending the Avicii show at Boston’s TD Garden. Fortunately, there have been no deaths reported yet, but a large number of medical emergencies stemming from a single event is a stark reminder that dehydration and heatstroke are real risks at EDM events. This is particularly a concern at indoor venues during the summer season. Please take care of yourself and all those around you. Stay cool. Stay hydrated. Take breaks. Replenish electrolytes.

June 26, 2014Read more...

Help Support Honest, Fact-Based Drug Education and Awareness!

The summer is approaching, and we are proud to announce the launch of our first crowdfunding campaign. Check out our awesome new video on Indiegogo.com! With this campaign we are hoping to raise $100,000 to expand our services in time for the festival season. Please donate today (even small amounts count) and also SHARE THIS LINK with anyone you know who believes that harm reduction is an appropriate, rational alternative to the drug war. With your help, we can prevent the kinds of tragedies that took place in the Northeast last summer, and make 2014 a landmark year for the...

April 9, 2014Read more...

Scotland Club Owner Calls for Legalisation After Ecstasy Death

Last night, police in London issued a warning to clubbers not to use a "bad" batch of ecstasy after at least three people were rushed to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries after taking the substance. The clubbers are understood to have taken the party drug at a warehouse party in Beckton, east London, before falling ill.

April 9, 2014Read more...

Drug Deaths Shut Down Asia’s Biggest EDM Festival – But Here’s What I Saw

On the final day of Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA), I found myself sitting in a traffic jam with various members of the press, ten blocks from our hotel. Massive traffic pileups might be normal for Kuala Lumpur on a Saturday, but something seemed off. For the last two days, our press brigade had been shuttled back and forth between our hotel and the festival venue by a (largely symbolic) six-motorbike police escort. Today, they hadn't arrived.

March 23, 2014Read more...

DanceSafe is Hiring: Seeking National Outreach Director

The Outreach Director is responsible for: overseeing all aspects of volunteer participation, including recruitment, training, supervision, and scheduling; event and outreach planning, coordination, organization and promotion; public relations development through community education, involvement and support; program development, implementation, and evaluation; and other administrative tasks. Reports to: Executive Director Duties and Responsibilities: Develop curriculum(s) for a standardized DanceSafe volunteer training program; Engage in ongoing program development, implementation, and evaluation; Preparation and dissemination of reports and findings; Manage drug checking programming, data collection, and monitoring system; Develop harm reduction messaging and outreach materials; Manage volunteers, on-site and off-site; Facilitate new chapter development and volunteer recruitment; Develop new regional coordinators and be responsible for...

March 21, 2014Read more...

L.A. Times Explores MDMA’s Use in Treating PTSD

The therapist said she became a believer in the late 1980s after it helped her deal with her own trauma. She has since conducted roughly 1,500 sessions with patients, leading them on four-hour explorations of their feelings. She uses only the purest MDMA — in contrast to street Ecstasy, which is typically contaminated — and none of her patients has ever experienced an adverse event, she said. The therapist said she knows roughly 60 professionals in her region who use MDMA in their practices — and the number is growing. "We are responsible therapists doing respectable work," she said.

March 18, 2014Read more...

APHA Calls for Drug Decriminalization

The leading public health organization in the country recently unveiled a clear and comprehensive exit strategy for the failed war on drugs. With little fanfare, the American Public Health Association adopted a sweeping resolution last November calling for “a full reorientation” of U.S. drug policy “toward a health approach to drug use.” The resolution condemns the drug war as “an engine of mass incarceration” that has only amplified the harms of drug misuse, such as fatal overdose and disease, while causing or contributing to frightening levels of prohibition-related violence.

March 11, 2014Read more...

DanceSafe Newsletter – Year in Review and New Beginnings!

Welcome to the the brand new incarnation of the DanceSafe Newsletter! It's been many years since we published one, and many of you out there may be receiving this for the first time. Our newsletter comes out monthly and covers current events related to the electronic music community, harm reduction and drug policy reform. There are exciting new things happening in our organization, and in the community as a whole. We look forward to keeping you posted on new developments! Electronic Music Goes Mainstream It's 2014 and the state of popular music is currently Electronic Dance Music ("EDM"). Moving out of 2011...

March 1, 2014Read more...

Reddit AMA: Festivals, Harm Reduction and Know Your Rights

DanceSafe Executive Director Missi Wooldridge will join Festheads and The Festival Lawyer for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit this Friday, March 7th at 4PM. Festheads is an online destination for music fans who want to discover, compare and share their music festival experiences. Their website has a comprehensive database of more than 600 of the top music festivals in North America providing fans with a tool to search and discover festivals based on their location, music tastes, dates and more.

February 28, 2014Read more...