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My best friend has been into the rave scene for some time now and has talked about all the parties she has been to. She invited me to a rave about a year ago and I did not know what I was getting into. I had seen a special about raves on one of those boring new shows that thinks it knows everything; I think it was 20/20. It talked about the raves in detail and explained how raves were becoming mainstream. My friend had seen the special too, and could not disagree. She had warned me about a lot of the things that went on at the raves, but nothing could prepare me for what was to come.

I walked into the crowded room and had a shocked initial reaction. The heavy smell of sweat and the claustrophobic loud music enveloped me. A crowd of teenagers was standing around in colorful clothing and spiked hair. It was my first rave and I was intrigued with every aspect of its culture. The clothes, the jewelry, and the glow sticks all had some kind of significance to them. As the night went on, I learned why the people were acting the way they were.

The drug scene in this society is rapidly changing. Since the Sixties, marijuana has been the drug of choice for many people, rich, poor, male, female. But a new drug has come onto the scene that is gaining momentum, especially in the rave scene. This drug is Ecstasy and it is the cause of many rave trends. One of the big trends is glow sticks. Ecstasy stimulates the senses, increasing the affects many things that would ordinarily be seen as boring. This includes the glow stick. Ravers wave the sticks around, sometimes on strings, and watch the “light show”. It leaves an illuminated path that can only be truly appreciated by someone on high doses of mind-altering substances. A baby’s pacifier is often seen being worn around a Raver’s neck. This is because the drug gives the user the sensation that they need to have something in their mouths to suck on, and...