By Matthew Clayton
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is attempting to take the rave out of Utah”s rave scene. Shurtleff has released a multi-media CD called “Club Drugs – Nothing to Rave About,” in an effort to teach law enforcement officers and parents of the signs and dangers of the club drug culture across the state.
“It is estimated that 80-90 percent of all crime in Utah County is drug related in some way or another,” said Sgt. Guy Gustman of the Utah County Drug Task Force.
“We discovered that many of the law enforcement officers really had no idea about the extent of the club drug problem. They didn”t have a lot of information about what to look for and what the laws were about,” said Paul Murphy, director of communications for the Attorney General of Utah.
The club drugs are typically stepping-stones to more addictive drugs, which often lead to crime.
According to the Provo Police Department, some of the robberies last December in the Wymount area are connected to a Methamphetamine ring based in Salt Lake City.
With the distribution of this new CD, officers now have a resource at their fingertips to help them recognize much of the drug paraphernalia that is common to the area.
“This is a great tool for them to learn quickly what they need to do and what still needs to be done,” Murphy said.
The rave scene in Utah has escalated in the last five years, said Sgt. Gustman.
“Two years ago people had to travel to Salt Lake City to go to a rave, but now in the summer months there is a rave party every weekend somewhere in Utah County,” he said.
Law enforcement officers are not the only ones in need of more accurate information about the Utah drug culture.
“Most of your club drugs are targeted more to college-aged kids,” Gustman said.
Speaking of the CD, Murphy said, “We have a modified version up on our Web site that would be really helpful for your readers, and for parents and also I think for college students. I think they need to know how dangerous these drugs are.”
Tracey Tabet, the community relations director for the Attorney General, said many youth in Utah are manipulated into using drugs.
“They”ll be told that it is a hyped-up caffeine pill or it”s an energy pill or that it”s all natural. There is a ton of misleading information on websites out there, that lead kids to believe that they can use this stuff safely,” Tabet said.
Tabet said there are even groups that promote “safe use” of drugs, telling users how to reduce risk by testing drugs for lacing of other substances.
“So a lot of people believe that if their pill is pure it is safe, but ultimately even pure ecstasy is not good ecstasy,” Tabet said.
The drugs cost roughly 25 cents to produce, according the office of the Attorney General, which means the markup could be enormous. Some sizable dealer”s could easily make $30,000 a month. Tabet said the rate of return has been tremendously attractive to gangs in Utah.
Murphy said sponsored rave parties have the real money, evidenced by the presence of costly DJ”s.
Whereas ecstasy in the past was typically a popular college drug, Sgt. Gustman said he now fears it is spreading to high school students too.
“Anytime there is a rave party there”s gonna be drugs,” Gustman said. “If anybody was to tell you that there is a rave party without drugs, they are lying.”
Gustman said raves and the drugs associated with them are the toughest to crack down on because they are advertised over the Internet or with fliers. Typically, the advertisements will direct people to a Web site or a contact person to obtain the address of the rave.
Police officers and parents should look for signs that might include sucking on pacifiers or suckers or grinding of the teeth, which Professor Bruce Woolley of BYU”s Physiology and Developmental Biology Department said is a physiological response caused by ecstasy.
“Most of these club drugs basically put you in a dream-like state called synesthesia which is characterized by an enhanced perception by one or more of the five senses. This then leaves them with no inhibitions, nor the ability to control themselves,” said Woolley, who is also a pharmacist.
Tabet listed several other identifiers of the drug culture.
“Users will wear painters masks smeared with mentholatum because breathing becomes amazing, I guess. Often they”ll have glow sticks because their sight is intensified. They are mesmerized for hours by the light trails of the glow sticks. Ecstasy is also known to cause muscle cramping and so we often find them giving each other backrubs,” Tabet said.
Tabet said unlike alcohol, which you can smell, or marijuana, which gives bloodshot eyes, the changes from club drugs are very subtle and difficult to identify.
“We”ve had a lot of requests for materials from bishops and others in leadership positions who have wanted to share it with their respective groups,” Tabet said. Much more detailed information on the club drugs and their specific side effects is also available at the Attorney General”s Website at www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov.
