Electronic Music Festival Los Angeles: Overdose

[mwallace24]

I know from my personal accounts that episodes such as the ones described below are not isolated and cross many cultural and demographic lines. Policy should address what is actually occurring in a society, rather than establishing laws and protocol for idealistic conditions. People, many, many people, use ecstasy and current policy encourages harmful behavior on the behalf of rave promoters and drug dealers by allowing them to distribute pills that are not regulated, nor is pill testing encouraged and permitted. Research suggests that emergency room attendance does occur, all too frequently, and ambulance appearances can almost be anticipated at all major events. These behaviors, however, are not always present in all cultures, particularly all-access drug policy cases. People all over the world listen to electronic music. So one must why the cases are so numbered in certain areas. A rational response would include that the pills being consumed are not what the user intends to ingest. Adulterated pills include a range of substances varying from meth, a more expensive substitute, to DXM and a spectrum of research chemicals that can be easily obtained. Please note that this account can be multiplied many times over in reference to this one event alone. Shouldn't something be done to address this issue?

Halloween, like any other holiday, has evolved and changed its meaning for me as I have grown. I used to be afraid of ghouls, goblins, and witches; now I fear for drug deals, rave promoters, and the LAPD. Halloween compounded with the rave culture in the Los Angeles area has resulted in an annual event “Monster Massive”. Monster Massive, like any other Halloween gathering is a mecca of freaks and indulgences. It is an all ages occasion with security and police supervision held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, owned and operated by USC. The event attracts tens of thousands of patrons and crams them into overheated, overcrowded, unhealthy spaces that cannot be properly monitored. I am ambiguous about the motivations behind allowing such an event to take place, as it jeopardizes the safety of each person entering the door.

I personally experienced the peril involved in such an event last Saturday, October 27, when I came across a girl not much younger than myself collapsed on the sidewalk. I saw that people were not responding and decided to take her pulse. I am not a doctor, but given some minor medical experience I was able to conclude that she was not passed out due to heat or alcohol consumption, but rather a more serious neurological condition. I thought that she was suffering from something like Serotonin Syndrome or the aftermath of a stroke. Her muscles were rigid unlike anything I felt before, aside from a dead person. Her color was becoming increasingly worse and she was shivering uncontrollably. She was accompanied by a frantic and delirious boyfriend, who seemed to lack any sense of reality. Her boyfriend went for help as my husband and I stayed and tried to keep her conscious and alert. Help was summonsed and a security guard came a number of minutes later. He did little but hold a flash light and perform minimal crowd control to cover up the intensity of the girl's condition. As time elapsed and her lips turned blue, we set there with her boyfriend asking, “Where are the EMTS?!? Is anybody going to come and help?” I didn't quite know what to do but to reassure the girl that she was going to be okay and that help was going to be there soon. But as the minutes (a total of 45) went by and her condition worsened and no help was in sight I began to realize the severity of the situation. Where were the people attending to the event? Why isn't there a realistic response time for a medical emergency? What type of people are behind this? The event security wanted the happenings to be kept quiet and tried to downplay the scenario, hoping she would regain her spirit and mosey down to the first aid room. With no response from First Aid or any staff with medical training, we were forced to move her from the sidewalk to an area closer to the light. At this point there was still no stretcher and only a lemonade stand table to place the rigid nearly lifeless body of the barely 20 year old girl. We were trying to move her to the first aid room, but efforts were halted by the security guard in fear there would be a scene.

Who regulates this type of event? Is there an agency that deals with conditions for concerts and acceptable venues? Why are these parties and events not publicized in the news? Does somebody with too much money and too much power have too much influence over what happens in Los Angeles?

The impact of ecstasy is highly disputed, but many agree that there are potentially beneficially uses. Imagine trying to buy a glass of moonshine from your neighbor during prohibition; if you really wanted to get your hands on a glass of alcohol you could, but with a cost. There was always a Russian Roulette risk of not knowing what one was buying; one glass could kill you and the other just make you drunk: the same is the case with ecstasy. The pills all look the same for the most part, and the contents are unknown. The substances induce a state of inebriation, but who is to decide what is actually in the pills.

Monster Massive was not some type of illegal party in the woods or desert; this was a mainstream event where people were falling out like a war zone of drugs. As history suggests, people are going to want to party and have fun, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the government to make sure there are safe guards in place to protect the populous. Whether it does so by shutting down event such as this or by regulating ecstasy so that it is not laden with other drugs like research chemicals and amphetamine, something needs to be done to prevent other people from experiencing what happened to that girl that night. Because she isn't here to talk about it now. She died from liver and heart complications a week later.

[mwallace24]

Plur

[sancib]

Your post is very disturbing on so many levels. First off sounds like she was having a seizure, and when you continously seize like that you dont breath. If that poor girl had successfully made it through, I seriously doubt that her mental capacity would have been intact. She would have spent her life mentally retarded with that prolonged an "anoxic event".

You also mentioned that you have some medical experience, Honey what happend to CPR? Find a frkin barrier, even a zip lock bag will do.Do you know that that poor parents girl can sue the company that hires the security, and yourself if you are a certified health care provider of any sort! You are obligated by law, good samaritan law not only protects people from suing you for trying to help, but protects people by trying to ensure some help will come. How very unfortunate and sad.

I also attended my very last Monster Massive event myself this past year, for many of the same reasons. I emailed them and never got any kind of response. These people are just greedy, money grubbing mongers! they dont care who is upset, gets cheated out of their money, or dies, as long as they get paid.

As for your video, I dont really get the point...Yes I see the ambulance, and firefighters, but no one is being "bagged" meaning hand bag/mask rescue breathing, no chest compressions, it all seems very relaxed. If they rolled a gurney into the truck, I didnt see it, and if they did it wasnt as big of a life threatening emergency due to the lack of above mentioned. Yes it sucks, and we all know about the risks of taking drugs, but I have to tell you, from what I've seen these kids have absolutely NO restraint or consept of self awareness. When will some of the responsibility be owned up to by the user. No one tells you to take 2-5 double stacks with red bull, and a couple shots of liquor. No one twisted your arm to have friends that would abandon you if you got in trouble. So many bad decisions piling on top of another will eventually end in some chaos.

[sancib]

But please dont get me wrong, I have coded many a child, young adult, adolescent. I have lost friends and loved ones due to poor judgement. I have also almost given CPR to a girl in a vegas hotel spa (search the threads for the story if you want). My heart goes out to the people who lost their daughter, sister, cousin, best friend. And that's what inspires my response to your post. If that were my loved one I will always think to myself what if...

I just feel like sometimes trajedy could have been avoided, if people had a little more common sense.

[mwallace24]

Plur

[mwallace24]

MWallace came across the girl and her boyfriend. Wallace stayed with the girl so the girl's boyfriend could get help. Where he went and what he did during the 10 minutes is unknown. He returned with a security officer and he was actively communicating over a walkie-talkie. After the ambulance arrived, they used the least accessible door and the process continued to drag out even further. I am not aware if the staff knew the severity of her condition, but it was suggested by Wallace that the situation was critical and she was beginning to go into shock. Wallace and others applied what first aid knowledge they had, however the venue was overcrowded and poorly planned. The response time most likely played a role in her fatality, but it is hard to determine what exactly went wrong. There was a number of officers and EMTs, but a lack of coordination may have resulted in her condition escalating.

[sancib]

passed out, Her muscles were rigid unlike anything I felt before, aside from a dead person. Her color was becoming increasingly worse and she was shivering uncontrollably. As time elapsed and her lips turned blue, a total of 45 minutes went by and her condition worsened

Well if you want to have a conversation about sumantics...

All these details in your statement tell me that her body was not doing it's job and this always means you do it for them... ie. if an infant has a heart rate of 60bpm, that doesnt mean chill out heart is beating, it's not doing it's job so you do it for them.

But reguardless, the point is that the Sports arena is a shitty venue, I am not surprised that they havent received any legal action. I agree with you that that was a piss fkn poor job. And if that was my daughter you bet your sweet ass I'd be pressing charges via the Good Samaritan law. These people should be better prepared to handle emergencies, I mean they pack it full, it's hot, sweaty, even if you didnt do drugs you still have a high risk of suffering heat stroke.

All the same I am sorry for the loss of a human being, that for all intents and purposes maybe could have still been alive.

[weyes]

i'm sorry i didn't see this sooner...

monster massive is a horrible event; i decided never to go to it again after my own unpleasant experiences there, though they don't in any way compare to this.

but sanci is right; people need to also take some responsibility for themselves to some extent. one big reason why i don't go to massives or any all ages events anymore is because so many kids are there just to get fucked up out of their heads. i have seen so many young people get drugged up to the point of no longer looking human that i don't want to be around them anymore.

i believe that there is such a thing as responsible drug use, just as there is responsible drinking. i once met a 5' 5" 18-year-old who was on 3 hits of e and 14 hits of acid, and he sounded like he was retarded; i would've thought he was, had i not heard him speak earlier that night. he also almost just got arrested for doing something any sober person wouldn't've done... any sensible person would never take that amount of drugs; any sensible person would know that that's way beyond what one even needs to feel fucked up and that that's not safe. had he needed medical attention, i would not have blamed the venue for his getting sick.

of course the response time in this monster massive situation was way too slow and you seem to describe a cover-up type of attitude. but if the guy i was with had gotten sick, he would've had absolutely no right to blame it ALL on the venue, no matter how slow the response time. and sanci is right; to some extent, a person's friends have to look out for him/her. no one can stop someone from doing drugs, but friends and siblings (his sister was w/ him that night) do have a great deal of influence. no one i know would ever do that many hits of acid at once, and i've known some crazy-ass people in my time. everyone i know would bring that person back to reality somehow.

and my mom told me, at a very young age, that if she ever got hurt, to call a cab and take her to the nearest hospital. i'm from nyc, so it's a little different from here, but the point is that one doesn't have to sit around and wait for help that doesn't come. one can be more proactive about one's welfare.

don't get me wrong - this is a tragedy and a shame. but that girl and her boyfriend are also much to blame.