RAVE REVIEW

Toronto politicians are going to have to face the music.

They must ask themselves, do they want to crack down on after-hours "raves" which draw thousands of young people, run all night long and attract drug dealers like flies?

Or do they want to host them?

It's hard to see how they can have it both ways.

In recent months, city council and our police have woken up to the renewed wave of raves - and by this we mean all-night dance parties that are open to all ages and serve no alcohol, but are commonly rife with drugs.  They've had their hands full.

Just a month ago, after several shootings and drug-related deaths at clubs hosting raves, Mayor Mel Lastman and Police Chief Julian Fantino launched a strike force to shut the illegal dens down.

Yet at the same time, the city went out of its way to host a rave for 12,000 young people on the Ex grounds, which was touted as a great success.  Some 19 people were busted for drugs, but noting the size of the crowd, Fantino said, "It's no different than a rock concert."

Now this week, after an 8,000-person Easter rave at the same venue resulted in 24 drug busts and three people treated in hospital for drug use, some politicians are calling for a ban on raves at city facilities.  ( The event was promoted with pamphlets illustrated with pills, though the same pamphlet did warn no drugs were allowed.  )

To us, it's a mystery why the city would want to have anything to do with such events, let alone take on the responsibility of regulating them.  ( The pamphlet snafu shows just how effective that is.  )

And these events are different from rock concerts.  The crowds are younger overall and the widespread drugs - Ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, or even more dangerous homemade drugs sold under those names - are cause for serious concern.

We note here that some rave culture denizens ( like Adam Wilson of Toronto Rave Scene ) don't consider these events "real" raves.

"It's just another nightclub," he told the Sun.  Whatever.  We're not interested in debating the fine points of the rave experience, i.e., the type of music, or whether it's held in a club or a field somewhere.

Our point is this.  Surely the best role for the city and our police in all this is to continue to lean on the host clubs that turn a blind eye to criminal activity - not to start throwing the parties themselves.

That strikes us as just stark raving mad.