Consent, COVID, & Dating

By: Sloane Ferenchak, #WeLoveConsent Coordinator; Gina McGrath, Consent Culture Initiative Founder/CEO; & Ashley Stafford, Consent Culture Initiative Executive Director If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that life during a pandemic is difficult to navigate! The risks associated with COVID have required us to use communication skills that are ... Read more

#WeLoveConsent: Do Year Resolutions

Happy Do Year from #WeLoveConsent Have you ever flirted with someone who wasn’t sober? Has someone borrowed your things without asking? Have you had a sexual encounter with someone who was way older or younger than you? Received an uncomfortable and unwanted hug from a stranger – or a relative? Been the person who gave that hug, and felt uncertain ... Read more

Why Does DanceSafe Release Test It! Alerts?

By: Rachel Clark, Programs & Communications Coordinator Greetings, DanceSafers! As many of you know, we routinely release Test It! Alerts that detail the appearance, location, and contents of adulterated drugs around the country based on Erowid’s DrugsData Project and community-submitted entries. We believe that this information on its own is useful ... Read more

Ketamine Bladder Damage – What You Need to Know

Using ketamine can be fun, and recent studies have shown it to have antidepressant effects. (1) But using it too often can damage your bladder and result in a serious condition known as Ketamine Bladder Syndrome (a.k.a. Ketamine Cystitis). Your bladder is a round sac behind your pelvic bone that holds urine. It is about the size of a grapefruit, but can ... Read more

DanceSafe partners with Rave Scout Cookies to bring harm reduction education to underrepresented underground communities

DanceSafe National has teamed up with Rave Scout Cookies to release the First Aid + Survival Guideline handbook and the live-stream of digital events, which will feature harm reduction tips for various popular recreational substances, including anecdotal accounts from DanceSafe leaders and others in the community. The now-and-again publication will also ... Read more

DanceSafe & Safe Sex: A Guest Blog from Beforeplay.org

DanceSafe is centered on health and safety in the electronic music world, but what about health and safety after you head home from an event and slip between the sheets with that special dancing someone? That’s where Beforeplay.org comes in. Beforeplay.org is around to help “normalize” conversations about sexual health and make sure we can all have ... Read more

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is the mental process of measuring the risks involved in engaging in a given activity. People perform risk assessments most often when they are trying to decide whether or not to engage in an activity they perceive to be “risky.” Using a drug, for example (any drug), has risks. Let’s see how the risk of using drugs ... Read more

Getting Home Safely

Driving home in the morning after staying awake all night partying can be dangerous. Below are some suggestions of how to reduce your risk of getting into a car accident. Definite Don’ts Don’t drive if you have been drinking alcohol. Alcohol lowers your reaction time and inhibits motor functioning. Don’t drive if you have been using ... Read more

Hearing Protection

You are at risk of hearing loss Hearing damage can take the form of temporary or permanent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and loss of the ability to hear clearly. Amplified music can cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). A study in Great Britain found that 62% of regular club-goers have symptoms of hearing loss. The risk of hearing damage depends on: ... Read more

Heatstroke

Dancing for long periods of time can lead to dehydration and heatstroke. Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition. Deaths from heatstroke have occurred at raves, nightclubs and festivals even when the individual had not consumed recreational drugs. However, recreational drugs can increase the risk by masking the symptoms of heatstroke (when you are high ... Read more