the drug was distributed through the criminal network. Although the number of users was dramatically reduced at first, criminalization did not prevent the drug's popularity spreading worldwide. The rave scene started on the hippy holiday island of Ibiza in 1987, where Ecstasy joined LSD and hashish at all-night dance parties. In England raves took the form of both large outdoor and warehouse parties. Warehouses were prepared secretly so as to avoid local people obtaining a court order to prevent the raves happening. Tickets were sold in advance without the address, but with a phone number to ring on the night for instructions regarding a meeting place. such as a motorway service station. from where a convoy would proceed to the venue. Opposition to raves was fierce since people living up to two miles away could be kept awake all night. By 1990, the British government had passed a law, the Entertainment’s (Increased Penalties Act), which effectively put an end to these big gatherings. The result was to push ravers into dance clubs. The Hacienda in Manchester led the trend in 1988 with the now prevalent style: DJs who never spoke, but teased the dancers with their subtle scratching establishing the “Manchester sound.” From there clubbing on E came to London, the rest of Europe, and eventually back to E's native California. “The English ravers hit San Francisco in the winter of 1991. We were suddenly surrounded by these kids, moving here from England. They were coming here in droves and bringing with them a new sensibility, a new style of clothes,” as reported in the San Francisco examiner.By this time Ecstasy had reached nearly every corner of society in England and by the winter of 1991-2, demand had outstripped supply, partly due to some massive police seizures. Dealers responded by selling any old tablet as Ecstasy and no doubt made huge profits, but as a result people had disappointing experie...
