Harm Reduction at Free Parties: A new perspective for drug user movements

Sarah de Haro & Fabrice Olivet

ASUD National (Association for the Safety of Drug Users), a users’ self organisation, is based in Paris but it is part of a national network.

137 rue la Fayette, Paris 75010, France. Phone no: +33 –01 53 26 01 10

Introduction

The free party movement started in France in around 1994 organising raves which had hitherto been mostly illegal as in other European countries. However in 1994, the UK government introduced the Criminal Justice Act which forced most of the travellers to leave their own country. Some of them came to France, and among them was the world famous Spiral Tribe who were truly influenced by the free techno movement in France. A few French musicians, DJs and artists were inspired by this way of life and the free party movement was born in France.

In 1997, a government Act allowed some raves to be officially organised. However by this time, the underground movement had grown too strong and independent to accept integration into the mainstream scene. Instead, it chose to stand apart, committed to a particular way of partying, and this commitment is still alive and well today.

The French Free Party Scene

Most of these parties are one night raves. In addition, there are several gatherings called ‘technovals’ lasting between two days and one week which take place mostly over the summer across France and in Europe. They attract between 10,000 and 20,000 people. They are free for all or sometimes small donations are asked for to meet the fuel costs, never more than 30 French francs (about £3).

These free parties are attended by clubbers and also young people who cannot get into clubs because they are under-age or because it is too expensive. This means that there are a lot of nervous drug users who are either using drugs for the first time or are still very much in the indecision phase of drug taking. This population lives in squats for the winter and in the summer they move from party to technoval concerts to techno gatherings, mixing with the original travellers.

A majority of this group are poly-drug users which means they are into designer drugs such as ecstasy, LSD and ketamine alongside cocaine and alcohol. Among them we found a higher percentage of injectors, especially of cocaine, heroin and ketamine. When they visit health services they pay little attention to their health and well being. This lifestyle can pose a real challenge for health promotion and harm reduction.

ASUD

At first ASUD (the French drug users’ organisation) did not pay much attention to this movement. Our organisation was formed in 1992 by injecting users and users committed to the drug fight for harm reduction and drug law reforms. Very few of us used designer drugs, and we did not see those people involved in techno music as a natural extension of our group. In 1998, a member of ASUD participated for the first time in a ‘technoval’ alongside the Techno Plus (TP) organisation and French doctors. The experience highlighted the fact that ASUD did have an important role to play in this field. TP is a drug users’ peer organisation from the south of France set up by a French doctor who first provided first aid help and support in the rave environment and came out with testing as a means of controlling the quality of ecstasy sold in this setting.

Drug Testing

Harm reduction requires a good working relationship with the police. In the last few months, several members of ASUD have been integrated into mission raves and involved in working together with free party movements. Both parties realise that ASUD, as a users’ organisation, has a role to play in this process. At first, ASUD was invited to be in charge of change which included giving our advice on flyers. ASUD has also taken part in drug testing. This has been a significant test for the legal status of drug testing in France. It was important for official drug users to take part in this work. We do not consider it as a scientific tool but rather as a rapid quality control. It also gets to many types of drug users but our organisation has had a particular engagement in the past with users such as homeless people, travellers and the very young. This is important as these are often the ones who will never get in touch with medical services or drug treatment agencies.

In many ways, a comparison can be drawn between this and the first programmes in France which were initiated by non-profit-making organisations and user groups. Before 1987, it was illegal to possess or give away syringes in France; those who promoted harm reduction during this time were told that by giving away sterile injecting equipment they would encourage people to inject. Though we are told that drug testing is encouraging people to do drugs, when we compare the two situations, it highlights the significance of the drug testing programme. Fighting for drug testing is just like arguing for harm reduction and drug users’ rights. Just as we battle for syringe exchange programmes, users have the right to know what they are taking.

In addition to testing the product, we also undertake an assessment of the information sharing process with the users to help us best meet their needs. Engaging people who use drug testing is a good opportunity to inform them about the existence of needle exchange on the side, as very few of them ask for it if and when they need it. We also offer them flyers on drugs and to introduce them to our organisation.

Working Together

We have acted positively to introduce nervous drug users to the idea of harm reduction and importantly the existence of drug user groups who are fighting for their rights. The impact of this work has been very positive, several new members joined ASUD after meeting us at a rave and inside ASUD we are building a new alliance between injecting drug users and designer drug users. This is the first time this has ever happened in France, as previously the two groups would stand apart from each other. These programmes are refined from drug law reform and increase the effectiveness of interventions wherever they take place.

By working together we can combine forces and unite two important tools for harm reduction, needle exchange and drug testing. Bringing different drug users together in one organisation increases our ability to define our right to the pleasurable use of drugs. This new unity gives us greater credibility to discuss the full range of drug uses and drug policies. This is important as it strengthens our position with the health services that define drug policy in France. This new project is even more strategic. The important drug policy organisation called OFDT (Observatoire Francaise des Drogues et des Toxicomanies) - which stands for the French Observatory on Drugs and Drug Dependency - has asked ASUD to take part in the national scheme to reduce the new substances and to spot check in tests. This study focuses on the designer drugs market by utilising the products that are accessed from Medécins du Monde drug testing programme. Nation wide warnings would be issued if dangerous products were found.

However, such a scheme could also be used against drug users to help both the police and customs. ASUD is working side by side with Medécins du Monde to protect the original goals and ideals of the scheme. As a member of this new experience and engagement with the free party scene ASUD will be creating its own rave team within the next few months. This team will co-operate with Medécins du Monde for both logistical and ethical reasons. Medécins du Monde and ASUD recognise that it is important to have a period of endeavour, to ensure continuity in this transitional period. In the meantime, ASUD will be training new members to work in the rave team across regional groups, so that ASUD’s night walk can be a positive foundation to cover parties across the whole country.

Looking to the future we also hope to be able to deliver drug testing in official settings such as rock concerts and we are still working hard to convince official promoter and club owners of the need to offer drug testing in their premises. The free party drug-testing scheme has to first consider the rule of drug testing. Opening up a drug scene in town for heroin and cocaine, requires further forward thinking about differences within the drug scene. ASUD is really finding a new energy in this project and I do hope I will be here next year to talk about our successes.