Illegal raves

[Claybury]

Anyone got DC's that go to these ?
DS16 sneaked out to some last summer (lying to us about his whereabouts ) - when we found out we said to him that we realise we can't really stop him from going, but to have a policy of honesty. So this time he told is he wanted to go to the one last weekend , we said he could go but had a talk about keeping safe and drugs etc. My DS says lots of his mates are lying to their parents about where they are going, I can't reward his newfound honestly with forbidding him to go can I?
Last night the evening news reported on this event - in Croydon- there was violence , riot police were called, arrests made and a 15 year old died from drugs.
What to do ?

A friend of mine was at the Croydon one. He said there was an incident with the police, but for the most part he thought the cops handled the incident brilliantly and the rave mostly went ahead afterwards without a hitch. The issue with the police was vandalism of the venue rather than the rave itself.

I've been to several myself and there are a lot of very young people there, but those I've spoken to have said that one of the reasons they like the raves is how safe the clientele are and the very tight control the security staff keep over the doors and inner areas.

There are a hell of a lot of drugs around, with all the attendant risks, but the drugs themselves are usually euphorics, stimulants and hallucinogens - no opiates that I've ever seen, very little ketamine or cocaine and alcohol has quite often not been permitted.

It sounds like you have a very respectful approach to your son's freedom.

Thanks neo - Actually I'm told there was a bar there, unlicensed of course, and that a lot of kids use ketamine. My son tells me it's more girls using ketamine, there is a girl in his year (year 11) suffering from incontinence from use . There were ALOT of kids there celebrating the end of GCSE, so yes, pretty young.

My Ds goes to raves... If they have reached an age where you can't stop them then I suggest keep dialogue open so that you know what they are up to, where they are so they know they can phone you if they have a problem.
I once drove Ds and his mates to one so I could check it out for myself.. lots of drugs , Mdma, ketamine and lsd I also noticed a lot of respect and care for each other and not much alcohol. Of course I'd rather Ds didn't go at all but it was no worse and considerably better atmosphere and vibe (no violence) than some night clubs...