Investigating the association of drugs with rave culture

Rave culture has been prominent since the 90’s and has been increasingly popular since then, with EDM music really taking over the charts. Since starting university, I have been drawn into this genre of music and have experienced all kinds of raves, from house music and garage, to jump up drum and bass. My love for raves did not only come from the music, but the community of people it attracts. The collective enjoyment of the audience creates the most welcoming atmosphere as everyone is there to have a good time. the more I experienced these events, the more I took notice of the excessive drug/substance abuse and realised it was the most present at raves, comparing to a normal club or bar, and I started observing the behaviour of the audience more, and questioned what it is about EDM music that makes people want to dissasociate.

The culture all began in the 90's where the combination of the emergence of electric dance music, and MDMA created a whole new party scene which is still a hit today. There is a noticeable change of the drugs used back then compared to now and how more people are abusing ketamin which really changes the mood of the dancefloor, and has some DJ's complaining about it. I want to find out from different perspectives why people abuse certain drugs, the opinion of DJ's on the topic and the health and safety concerns it involves.

Drugs have always been criminalised in most countries around the world, but this doesnt mean they are any less accessible. EDM is the top genre for people to abuse drugs and substances, and with the black market selling dangerous and questionable products, more and more people are exposed to the dangers of overusing and potentially risking their lives. There are plenty of campaigns fighting for anti-drugs and a minority of them promoting education on how to take them safely and coping with the after effects because no legislation will prohibit anyone using drugs - only criminalising people having them.

So my journey begins here, where i'll be looking into this topic in more detail by interviewing industry proffessionals such as DJ's, medical professionals, drug abuse charities and people who experienced rave culture in the 90's. I'll also be immersing myself into the rave culture and experiencing first hand how people are behaving.