Colorado Teen's Death at Rave

An Introduction to this Article: Now, I normally wouldn't cover a story like this, but I feel that the information in the source article was presented in such a bad way. This story hits me straight in the heart because I was at the rave where this poor boy died. I'd also like to point out that the picture above is NOT the boy who died, but it WAS taken at the rave.

The Story: On Saturday, November 15th, an underground rave by the name of "Changing the Rules" was thrown at an empty warehouse in Denver, Colorado. Unfortunately, 18-year old Dustin Yslas of Aurora died of a suspected drug overdose. The young man purchased 3 ecstasy pills which were unfortunately cut with high amounts of DXM (a cough suppressant that acts as a mild hallucinogen when taken in large doses).

The party's promoters, Harlock's Elite, did everything in their power to reduce the risk of anything like this happening. Security was tight at the door in attempts to prevent drugs being brought into the venue. A medic was on staff as well as two additional EMTs that were attending the party. As with any event of this nature, drugs were sure to get in. The promoters had representatives from DanceSafe (an organization aimed at reducing the risk of ecstasy related deaths) who offered free ecstasy pill testing.

Street ecstasy is almost never pure MDMA (the main chemical component that produces the effects of ecstasy). Pills can be tested for all common drugs that MDMA is cut with including DXM, Amphetamines, Methamphetamine, Ketamine, and Cocaine.

The party was advertised as an event for "all responsible ages" and the promoters encouraged responsible behaviour in all of their advertising. They never condoned any kind of drug use at their party but instead encouraged people to make the party about the music and keep the drugs out. The promoters released this statement the morning after their event:

"I am really hurt by this blow and wish there was anyway this could've been avoided. We had had police issues all night, but they did not shut us down and then this happened."

Source 1
Source 2 - Personal Experience

xPirate's Thoughts: Like I said in the introduction, I was at this party when the poor boy died. The original article that I read on the topic seemed to place the blame on Harlock's Elite, the promoters of the party. I had to set this straight. The original article makes false accusations that people who were going to the party discussed what drugs they were going to use on the Harlock's Elite website. As a member of those forums, I will tell you that this is NOT true. Harlock's Elite in no way condone's drug use. I hope that this blog post helps in clearing their name.

On the boy's death, I think he is entirely responsible for his own death. He chose to buy the drugs. He chose to not get those drugs tested when it was offered completely FREE of charge. He chose to take the amount that he took. The promoters had done everything in their power to make sure that everyone remained safe. This kid just took it too far and there was nothing that could be done to save him. I am sad that such a tragic thing had to happen at an event aimed toward changing the rules of the rave scene. I know everyone there learned a valuable lesson that night.