By VIVIENNE WONG
alltherage@thestar.com.my

LIKE most of the people at the last rave party he went to, Piaget Wong, 24, was there to listen to some good music and have a good time with his friends.

But in the middle of the party, a guy approached him out of nowhere, brazenly asking him to sell him some “pills”.

Wong told the guy he was just a regular party-goer, but the man was convinced – possibly because Wong was carrying a messenger bag – that he was carrying drugs, and insisted he sell him some.

Feeling disgusted, Wong told off the stranger and walked away.

But that, unfortunately, is how open drug-use is at rave parties, which have come under the spotlight again after Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA) 2014, where six drug-related deaths were reported after the first two days of the festival, leading the third day to be cancelled by police.

Esther (not her real name), 25, has been going to raves for seven years now, and she believes the number of people taking drugs at raves has increased tremendously.

These days, the number of those high on drugs often outnumbers the ones who are sober, said Esther.

“It’s almost like if there are no drugs, then there’s no point in going to a rave,” she said. “For me, it’s not a must. I didn’t enjoy my first tripping experience, so I never bothered after that.”

Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA), dubbed as the largest music festival in Southeast Asia, was marred by six drug-related deaths at FMFA 2014 despite what organisers said were increased security measures.

Fellow raver Daniel, 23, however, said “it’s a must to take drugs” at raves.

“It’s a light show (as well as a concert). When you use ecstasy in small doses, it amplifies your senses. It heightens everything so the lights look brighter, everything looks greater and the music sounds better,” he said.

Medical student Tony, 24, has tried everything from hallucinogens to ecstasy, and he said it was all for the “thrill” of it. “To me, ecstasy is the best, but I know all of this stuff is bad for me, so I stopped everything last year, before I got any health problems.”

For others, taking drugs at rave is just about being pragmatic.

Ying, 31, an auditor who used to take drugs at raves, said: “Alcohol at raves is expensive. You pay around RM15 for a can of beer, and most people would have to drink about three cans or more to get tipsy. That works up to around RM45, and the effects don’t last as long.

“With drugs, especially pills, you’re paying around RM25-RM50, and the high lasts all night,” said Ying.

But whatever the reason, this apparent increase in drug use is worrying, particularly considering how the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) already has statistics showing that 72% of drug users in the country are aged 19-39.

Based on secondary data from AADK, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that peer influence is the main reason people are doing drugs.

Social worker Wendy Yap, founder of Persatuan Rumah Caring Kajang, Selangor, has worked with recovering drug addicts for the past 17 years, and she has seen a steady rise in cases involving young people. She gets up to 10 calls a week from parents whose children, mostly aged 20-25, were found to be addicted to drugs.

“I can say that today, eight out of 10 young people have touched drugs before. They aren’t afraid because they think they can’t get addicted, but most of them do,” said Yap. “It saddens me because they never think about the consequences, their future and their families who love them.”

Most ravers say drugs are not a must to enjoy the music, but they admit that its use is fairly widespread at most events.

Getting high
As much as rave organisers try to prevent the smuggling of drugs into events, there is nothing much they can do to when faced with party-goers determined to get high.

Ying, for example, said most of her friends would simply pop their pills before entering the rave. “The effects only kick in about 30 minutes later, so the security won’t be able to detect it at the entrance.”

It’s not too hard getting some when you’re inside either. Video editor Alex, 23, said people would just ask around randomly until they come across a drug pusher.

Ying, who has been clean for four years now, said it’s pretty obvious when someone at a rave is on drugs – their eyes will either be “wonky” or rolled back, and their faces even get droopy, as if they were “melting off”. Many of them end up sitting or lying down in the middle of the crowd at raves.

But according to fashion stylist Loh, 25, these ugly effects rarely discourage people once they’re at a party. He was once at a party where two people had passed out on the floor from drugs, but some of their friends were still using the rest of the night.

A strong police and security presence at FMFA didn’t discourage drug users and pushers either. According to Iqbal Ameer, one of the directors of FMFA organisers Livescape Asia, the best possible safety measures were put in place during the event. Over 100 police officers were on duty, with an additional 280 security staff and 80 Rela members placed around the grounds.

And yet, in just the first two days of the festival, 29 people were arrested for drug possession, nine collapsed from drug use, and six died from overdose. Tony said avoiding detection is as easy as hiding the drugs in their underwear.

Nevertheless, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said banning future concerts won’t resolve the drug issue. What’s really needed, he said, are stricter anti-drug rules when issuing permits for concerts, and better drug education among the youth.

Iqbal added: “There have been a lot of questions asked in recent days, but one question that hasn’t been addressed is, ‘Why are people taking drugs?’ I think we and society as a whole need to address this.”

Easy access: It is easy to obtain drugs at raves despite the authorities and organisers’ best efforts to police the events.

What do you think about drug use at rave parties? Is there no practical way to have a clean, drug-free party? Do we need better anti-drug education? Tweet your thoughts to @thestar_rage or drop us a comment on facebook.com/thestarRAGE.