1. New Pill Results

The latest results from DanceSafe's laboratory pill testing program are available online at www.dancesafe.org/currentresults.html The results are current through February 8 and include sample pills from several states with contents ranging from MDMA to caffeine. To participate in this free, anonymous program, follow the instructions online at www.dancesafe.org/howtosendinapill.html

2. The State of Ecstasy Conference,
Or, "I Can't Believe It's Not a Party!"

By Jolayne Marsh for DanceSafe

Note: Jolayne Marsh coordinated The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation's "State of Ecstasy" conference, held last week in San Francisco. -Ed.

Despite the well-documented contraindications of mixing navy-suited doctors with pink-haired ravers, this had all the ingredients of a classic party. Strange and beautiful it was, and so Twenty-First Century it made your teeth hurt (or was that the candy?)

Wait. No. It wasn't a party. Was it?

No music save a rustling of voices, no pretty lights except camera flashes, no DJ but the host. That didn't stop over 350 colorful people from gathering, listening intently, gabbing incessantly and making new friends. It certainly proved a large enough and cool enough cluster to make it feel like a party. International press brandishing tv cameras like japanimŽ shields, bemused candy ravers sucking Tootsie-Pops, stoic researchers with something to prove and disenchanted drug war vets with something to yell about--it was a wild (I mean, wide) assortment of folks dotted the lawn of the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco Friday February 2, 2001.

Set among the Presidio's panorama of big old trees, big old barracks and the big old sea, the lunch crowd at the State of Ecstasy conference looked like the smoking room at a west-coast underground party. The sun tried hard to melt through the morning gray and a classic San Francisco breeze chilled the vibe, if there had been any need for chilling. Why the magnetic attraction between this picturesque wooded site with no sound system to speak of and so many diverse people? Some of the finest minds in the fields of drug policy, research and therapy had converged there to discuss the drug 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (or MDMA,) better known as Ecstasy. You read that right. The first national conference of its kind attracted over 350 researchers, physicians, therapists, law enforcers, policy makers, veteran users, interested parties, media hounds and yes, ravers. They came from all across this continent, and some came from abroad, to witness presentations by the likes of Sasha Shulgin, the 'godfather of Ecstasy;' George Ricaurte, the researcher whose findings create fertile ground for the DEA to sow destructive policy; and Sue Stevens, whom America watched take MDMA therapeutically on the MTV and 48 Hours Ecstasy specials.

The issues covered were as diverse as the presenters themselves. Molecular psychiatrist Jessica Malberg presented research suggesting that elevated body temperature might play a significant role in MDMA's potential neurotoxicity. DanceSafe founder Emanuel Sferios, on the other hand, questioned the very existence of MDMA neurotoxicity, based on the current research. And Dustianne North, representing the Moontribe dance collective, took the media, law enforcement and mass culture to task for condemning ravers while at the same time marketing legal drugs to youth and "using our music to sell cars." Everyone, it seemed, had an important point to make at this conference.

But perhaps the main point is that people came. People came from all across North America to discover the latest research, to hear the proponents argue with Ecstasy's detractors and doomsayers. Each panel of speakers, ranging from the historical to the visionary and from the cautionary to the radical, attracted a standing-room-only audience. This shows that the conference was not just timely and newsworthy, but important to people--more information is what the people came for.

The most important lesson of the day, at least for me, was this: Ecstasy is not going away, and we need to act now to protect ourselves and each other from the risks of use and from the punitive response of the legal system, which threatens users and non users alike. But you can find this all out on your own when you go and listen to the discussion. The conference co-presenters, the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation and the San Francisco Medical Society had the Silicon Valley insight to webcast the event. It felt like an EarthDance celebration- at least a thousand people listened from all over the world to every word spoken into a mic that day. If you want to make the leap into the land of the knowing, please visit www.drugpolicy.org where you will find links to RealAudio streams of each speaker.

The State of Ecstasy conference certainly was not assembled just to create the largest cuddle pile in history, but you could have fooled me when the final panel of speakers came to a close. Great group hugs, boisterous back- patting and copious card-collecting followed. The attendees glowed with an intensity that comes from shared Experience. I don't think anyone needed a party after that, which, predictably, didn't stop the out-of-towners from making headway to the nearest club. Next party I throw, I'm gonna hire caterers, hand out name tags and audio record the whole thing so that at 8 AM burned-out partiers can purchase a ticket to relive the entire experience-not so different from a Grateful Dead bootleg, only legit. And when you listen to this tape, your friends won't tell you to "Kill that hippy mewsick!" They'll be asking you to turn it up, sitting quietly, and listening. In the coming weeks, E-News will excerpt from and otherwise draw attention to key selections from the State of Ecstasy conference.

If you want audio tapes, contact Jane Heaven Recordings heaven@sirius.com. Videos will be available soon through The Lindesmith Center- Drug Policy Foundation's San Francisco office at (415) 921-4987. To listen to the speakers on RealAudio, visit www.drugpolicy.org

3. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Team Up With Bay Area DanceSafe

By Jane Tseng

Last month marked the launch of the San Francisco Queer Club & Circuit Party Outreach Project, a joint effort of the Bay Area DanceSafe chapter and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc., a philanthropic group serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. The pro- ject, which is being coordinated by Bay Area DanceSafe member Will Roscoe, will distribute health and safety information to local club and partigoers. "This service has never been offereed to patrons of queer clubs and circuit parties in San Francisco," Roscoe told E-News.

On January 10, the project set up a booth outside Club Universe to provide on-site pill testing for people going into the club. The following week, the Sisters and Bay Area DanceSafe sponsored a training and information session for volunteers interested in working in the local GLTB club and party scene. Space for the training was donated by the STOP AIDS Project. In the project's first weekend, hundreds of drug information fliers were distributed, and organizers caught the attention of the local media and the community. Bay Area volunteer Le Sheng Liu credits the Sisters' high profile with the project's success. "The Sisters are outgoing and flamboyant people, and their forcefulness produces both a positive and effective response from clubbers we talk to," Liu said. "Trust and attention are the keys to getting individuals to support and utilize these services. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have been instrumental in getting Bay Area DanceSafe involved with the SF circuit club community."

Founded in 1979, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. is an international organiza tion working to raise awareness and support for queer rights and issues affecting the GLBT community. In addition, the Sisters in San Francisco have become involved with a variety of other community service activities, including fundraising for the legal support of Proposition 215, a 1996 California law legalizing marijuana for medical use.

The SF Queer Club and Circuit Party Outreach Project will be flyering outside of Club Universe Friday February 16, 2001. For more information, contact Will Roscoe at Bay Area DanceSafe: www.dancesafe.org/bayarea/.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are online at www.thesisters.html

4. Dehydration, Heatstroke and Hyponatremia:
How Much Water Is Too Much?

Many of the medical emergencies attributed to Ecstasy are actually due to dehydration and heatstroke, potentially fatal conditions that can strike anyone who dances for hours in a hot environment without taking time to periodically cool off and drink water. People who use Ecstasy under these conditions are taking an extra risk, because MDMA inhibits the body's ability to regulate its own temperature. But did you know that too much water can be as dangerous as too little?

Just last week, a sixteen year old in Boulder, Colorado who had taken Ecstasy slipped into a coma and later died from hyponatremia, a condition caused by drinking more fluids than the body can process. This young woman had reportedly drunk more than three gallons of water in less than an hour.

Hyponatremia, or "water toxicity" is extremely rare, but there have been a few other incidents like the one described above, maybe because people have heard that it's important to drink extra water on Ecstasy.

Hyponatremia explained:

Drinking too much water can dilute the sodium in your blood. Without sodium, water is released into your body tissues. Your brain, which is encased in its skull, can not tolerate as much swelling as other body tissues. When the brain swells too much, it becomes compressed and puts pressure on the brain stem, which controls heart and breathing functions. Severe hyponatraemia can be fatal. Preventing hyponatremia: Drinking 2-4 cups an hour when dancing is about the right amount to prevent dehydration. You should also try and eat something salty (not always easy if you've taken a stimulant drug) or drink fruit juice or a sports drink like Gatorade. Remember, water is an antidote to dehydration, but it will not stop the effects of Ecstasy or other drugs.

Heatstroke explained:

When you take Ecstasy (or any stimulant drug) your body temperature rises. When you take Ecstasy in a hot place (like a rave or a crowded club) your body temperature rises even more. When you take Ecstasy in a hot place and start dancing energetically and for long periods of time, your temperature rises still higher. All of these factors taken together greatly incrase the risk of developing heatstroke. Meanwhile, when your body overheats you lose fluid. At a crowded indoor party you could lose up to 6 pints in 6 hours. These fluids must be replaced to avoid dehydration. Note: these cases are not "Ecstasy overdoses." Heatstroke can happen if you have only taken one tablet, and it's something to be careful of even if you aren't using drugs at all.

Warning signs of dehydration and possible heatstroke:

--Failure to sweat.
--Cramps in the legs, arms and back.
--Giddiness, dizziness, headache, fatigue.
--Vomiting.
--Fainting or loss of consciousness.
--Suddenly feeling really tired, irritable or confused.

If any of these things happen, stop dancing, drink some water and chill out immediately. What if someone collapses from heatstroke while dancing?

1. Call an ambulance.
2. Get the person to as cool a place as possible. This might mean taking them outside.
3. Drench them with water (as cold as possible) using any means you can. Increase the cooling down process by fanning them with anything that's handy. You are looking to get the body temperature down to 102F (38.9C). Once the temperature is down to this level the person should be wrapped in a dry blanket or given some dry clothes to wear. The temperature shouldn't be allowed to fall much below 102F or other serious consequences might develop.
4. When the ambulance comes, tell them what, if anything the person has taken (if you know) and that you think it is heatstroke.
5. If the person regains consciousness make them drink water with some salt in it. Gatorade or other sports drinks are ideal. At this point the person might start sweating again. This is a good sign.
6. The person should be taken to the hospital for observation and proper treatment. Preventing heatstroke:

**As a rough guide, you should be looking to drink about a pint of water every hour (2-4 cups). Sip the water slowly. Drinking a lot all at once can be dangerous.

**Alcohol is useless, and potentially very dangerous for people dancing under the influence of Ecstasy! Alcohol will make you even more dehydrated.

**Try to eat something salty or drink juice or an isotonic sports drink like Gatorade. This will replenish your body's electrolytes and help prevent hyponaetremia (water toxicity).

**Take breaks from dancing and allow your body to cool down. Chill out areas are perfect for this.

**Wear loose-fitting clothes and don't wear a hat. Hats and tighter clothes hold the heat in.

**Encourage your local promoters to uphold safe settings standards by providing proper ventila tion, access to free water, and chill out spaces. Much of the above information is available online at the DanceSafe web site, at www.dancesafe.org/heatstroke.html

The contents of E-News are (c)2001 DanceSafe and Respective Authors unless otherwise noted. Permission is hereby granted to freely reprint & reproduce DanceSafe E-News as long as proper credit is given, including links where appropriate.

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