Toronto's most recent rave death might have been prevented if the city and province had acted on recommendations from the inquest into an ecstasy-related death last summer, experts say.
An autopsy yesterday couldn't determine why the 16-year-old Brampton boy died, but police say he swallowed several pills at a downtown rave. His name is being withheld at the request of his family.
"He was really messed up," said Jessie Brown, 20, a rave enthusiast who was standing outside the Digital night club on Mercer Street near King and John streets when the boy was carried out around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.
It will take weeks for toxicology tests to determine whether the death is Toronto's fourth ecstasy-related rave fatality since 1998.
A coroner's inquest into one of the recent deaths, that of Ryerson University student Allen Ho, resulted in 19 recommendations last summer.
The jury suggested the city and province give more money to harm-reduction programs, which teach ravers safe habits such as drinking plenty of water and refusing to buy drugs from untrustworthy sources. But Will Chang, Toronto Dance Safety Committee organizer, says it hasn't happened.
"There should be more funding for harm-reduction programs," Mr. Chang said, adding that ravers would be less likely to overdose or take bad combinations of drugs with proper education. "That could have prevented this [recent death]."
The jury had also said the province should enact tougher regulation of raves, as mandated in a private member's bill then before the legislature. But the bill's champion, deputy Liberal leader Sandra Pupatello, said the government let her Raves Act die on the order sheet at the end of the latest session.
They're dilly-dallying around instead of trying to create a safe environment for young people," Ms. Pupatello said. She plans to reintroduce the bill when the legislature sits again.
Another idea offered by the jury was charging a 50-cent ticket surtax on rave events at public venues to fund education projects. But the concept floundered in municipal bureaucracy, said Joyce Bernstein, an epidemiologist with Toronto Public Health.
Some recommendations did make an impact, though.
The call for more education prompted the city health department to produce new pamphlets and a safety video which aired on MuchMusic, Ms. Bernstein said.
The jury also expressed concern about the easy availability of ecstasy's chemical building blocks, and the federal government is currently drafting legislation to restrict certain chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs. The rules should be written by the end of the year, said Paul Saint-Denis, a senior lawyer at the federal Justice Department.
Perhaps the most significant change since last year's inquest has been rave promoters' growing concern with safety, Mr. Chang said.
Whereas last year up to 80 per cent of raves allowed underage revellers, he said, now only 10 per cent of raves -- including the party at the Digital club -- are all-ages events.
"Despite what happened this weekend," Mr. Chang said, "the events are much safer than before."
Promoters have also become more scrupulous about hiring enough security and providing free drinking water, Mr. Chang said, adding that both were adequate at the Digital club that night.
"If they're going to sneak in some pills in their underwear or something there's nothing you can do but try to teach them some safety," Mr. Chang said. "What's a shame is that money for these programs is drying up -- while drug use among teens is on the rise."
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