Big Changes Coming To Raves In SoCal After Last Year's Suspected Drug-Related Deaths
POMONA (CBSLA.com) — Following two suspected drug-related deaths last year in Pomona, big changes are coming to raves.
The Los Angeles County Fair Assn. has confirmed it won't host any raves for 2016. The hard partying was suspected in leading to the drug-overdose deaths of an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old, who Lisa McAfee treated in her final hours of life.
She remembers how hectic the emergency room was that night.
"We were heavily bombarded in this department as well as resources from our community, including the ambulances, fire, police department regarding the volume of that rave and the number of sick people that were generated from it," the doctor said.
A few months later, another festival was held with tighter safety measures. Yet, still, hundreds were arrested on suspicion of yielding fake identification cards, being drunk in public, and possessing drugs.
"There's always drug use," said one man back in Nov. 2015. "That just kind of goes hand-in-hand with these events, unfortunately, but it is what it is."
The sobering numbers have led to serious change.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to move forward on safety recommendations for any future raves.
Those recommendations include having more medical and safety resources. But they won't ban raves altogether, which one local man agrees with. He and his family like the revenue the raves generate.
Even though the Fair Association says they don't plan to host any music festivals this year, they declined to comment about whether they'll host one in 2017 or thereafter.
