Like cheddar cheese at the end of a maze attracts a mouse, the electronic music scene attracts the youth. This genre of music has branched off into several subgenres including techno, house, ambient, and dubstep. Electronic music festivals enchant fans with bright neon lights, funky beats, and the perfect place to score drugs like ecstasy or acid. Some music festivals, such as Bonnaroo, can last for days and provide camping areas for the fans. Others, like the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (D.E.M.F.), also last for days, but do not provide camping areas. Either way, these days are marked on some college students’ calendars as “the days we are doing so many drugs” or “the days we will finally feel alive.”
Crowds of modern hippies, ravers, and just regular looking kids escaping reality are all spotted at electronic music events. The modern hippie is self-explanatory. A full-blown hippie does not shave their facial hair and unwanted body hair. They may have dreadlocks, wear clothing that looks like a rug or a quilt, and often travel with musicians, Renaissance festivals, or other festivals that promote a lifestyle that differentiates from the social norm. The modern hippie really is just like the original hippie from the ’60s. The reason why they are labeled as “modern” is because it’s 2011! Their motivations to become hippies are much different than the original. Original hippies were all about “free love” and ending the Cold War. The modern hippies want to embrace nature and reject societal behaviors like having a traditional 9-5 career, using soap, and adopting moral values that are commonly found in religious and governmental structures.
The ravers, on the other hand, differ from the hippies in appearance and behavior. Ravers are the lucid dreams of civilization. They may have brightly colored hair, sunglasses on at night, and extreme body art. Ravers live for the spotlight. Staying squeaky clean and looking cute is a priority to maintain the raver look. They, too, are turned off by social norms. Ravers aim to look freaky, sexy, and all around fun.
So why do you see regular looking kids hanging out with these hippies and ravers at music festivals…friendly conversation, consensual dry humping, and hallucinogenic drugs? Electronic music offers explosions of sounds that penetrate the body to turn your bones into jell-o. It is like a charge of lightning that makes you want to move. To enhance the experience, drugs are consumed like meals.
M.D.M.A. (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is the active ingredient in ecstasy tablets. The drug is synthetic, psychoactive, and chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and mescaline; once this drug hits your system, you may feel highly energized, overjoyed, and sensual. This drug provides warm and fuzzy feelings, but also confusion, depression, sleep problems, and severe anxiety.M.D.M.A. affects the brain by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. M.D.M.A. causes these neurotransmitters to be released from their storage sites in neurons resulting in increased neurotransmitter activity, increased serotonin release, and somewhat lesser dopamine release.In high doses, M.D.M.A. can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. On rare – but unpredictable – occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), which can result in liver, kidney, or cardiovascular system failure, or even death. M.D.M.A. can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body); therefore, potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated M.D.M.A. administration within short periods of time.
Physical symptoms of M.D.M.A. or ecstasy users include muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, dilated pupils, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills or sweating. Often you will see M.D.M.A. users sucking on a child’s pacifier or chewing gum due to the teeth clenching effect. Also, you may see them drinking excessive water and vitamin C drinks. The drug releases vasopressin, a hormone which encourages water retention. The water is retained in the brain neurons, and the pressure shuts down the main bodily functions. Vitamin C drinks are thought to increase the intensity and duration of the drug’s effects. The main street name for pure M.D.M.A. is “Molly”. It appears as an odorless, white power or can be yellowish, white chunks that look similar to crack cocaine. Ecstasy’s nicknames include “E”, “X”, “Adam”, and “beans” due to their multicolored candy tablet appearances. They can be labeled with symbols like stars, cartoon characters, and peace signs. Ecstasy is more dangerous because it contains substances that are only known to the drug dealers who traffic them. Being under the influence of this drug people will often refer to as “rolling” or “tripping.” Frequent users of this drug are often referred to as “E-tards” because their attention spans are short, their speech is slow, and their overall cognitive abilities are lessened.
L.S.D. (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) or “acid” effects are most prominent in two brain regions: the cerebral cortex, an area involved in mood, cognition, and perception, and the locus ceruleus, which receives sensory signals from all areas of the body. The ideal effects of acid include intensifying the reactions associated with sight, touch, smell, and hearing. Also, the goal is to expand your perceptions on the outside world, which is sometimes referred to as “feeding your head.” People who consume acid may experience increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, loss of appetite, sweating, nausea, and tremors. Acid is a liquid that is usually dropped onto small strips of paper and on rare occasions, sugar cubes. After an experience with acid, you may have “flashbacks”, which are instances where you cannot separate reality from imaginary. You may be doing a usual activity, such as driving a car, and start feeling like you did when you tripped on acid. This is usually frightening due to the fact that it is uncontrollable and may recur in your life.
“Candy flipping” is a term used when L.S.D. and M.D.M.A. are consumed together in one dose. This is the fastest way someone can become legally insane, and mentally challenged.
Electronic music is not responsible for the existence of these hallucinogenic drugs. The youth will always find ways to abuse substances even if they are tone deaf. There is only one solution to decrease the usage of these drugs, and it is the simple rule of cherishing your brain. If you use M.D.M.A., your brain cells are diminishing to the point where you can no longer have proper thought processes. If you drop acid, you are taking a step closer to driving yourself mad. You can’t blame hippies and ravers who seemingly do not have long-term goals and only live for the moment. All we see on television lately are documents proving that the world will end on Decemeber 21, 2012. Even if that may be true, a fully functional brain is still something you should value, so dance using your inborn confidence and expand your imagination through focus or meditation. After all, this is your life.
Sources:
http://drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/ecstasy.html
http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/ecstasy1.htm
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/mdma_faq05.htm
http://www.guide4living.com/drugabuse/ecstasy-kill.htm
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/lsd/f/lsd_faq04.htm