The explosion in dance culture in the late 80s and early 90s provides a backdrop for the Safe in Sound project. Suddenly a new breed of drug user came into existence. These were people going to rave parties at the weekends and using a cocktail of ecstasy, speed and other stimulant drugs to dance all night long.
This new group of drug users were an enigma to existing drug services which had been set up primarily to help people with heroin problems, by prescribing methadone and offering counselling and support. Dance drug users were welcome to go into their local drug services and ask for health information about their drug use, but the point is that practically no one did. The only information most partygoers were getting was by word of mouth, often consisting of urban myth and misinformation, or sensationalist anti-drug propaganda that appeared in the national tabloid press.
Around this time several information projects began to emerge in some of the larger cities around the country. These projects visited raves and events and supplied people with non-judgemental, practical advice about keeping safe on stimulant drugs. These dance safety projects were usually staffed by people who frequented raves/parties themselves and therefore had an intimate knowledge of the scene. This gave them credibility and meant they were accepted as reliable sources of information by their peers.
In 1996 the local Drug Reference Group (DRG a local forum for professionals working in the drugs field) decided Southampton had some of the same club health issues as other cities around the country. Through the DRG a multi-agency partnership was set up to undertake a feasibility study to see if a similar drug project was needed in the local area. After this initial pilot scheme it was decided to set up a project that would be managed through Southampton Voluntary Services and staffed by volunteers. The Safe in Sound project was born in 1997.
Since then a wide range of surveys have shown that people who go clubbing regularly tend to use illegal drugs more frequently and in higher quantities than their peers (Release 1997; O¹Hagan 1999; Winstock 2000; Measham 2001). These factors endorse the need for initiatives that promote awareness of the risks associated with the so called "dance drugs", bearing in mind that these drugs change according to the type of music being played, current fashion and availability.
In 2002 The Home Office published Safer Clubbing guidelines, which officially highlights and backs the role of drug agencies working under a harm reduction ethos in clubs.
