GRONINGEN, Netherlands, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A study of raves in the Netherlands finds substance abuse a small but significant problem at the mass social gatherings, researchers say.
Study leader Jan Krul of Educare Groningen in the Netherlands said the study of 3.8 million attendees at 249 raves during a 12-year period found 27,897 people visited a first-aid station -- more than one-third of them reporting a substance-related problem.
Of these, 515 required professional medical care and 16 cases were life-threatening. Sixty-seven substance-related problems were associated with ecstasy, alcohol, or both, Krul said.
People using GHB (gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, a neuroprotective and depressant drug illegal in a number of countries) most often required professional medical care, although the authors found no evidence for life-threatening, acute effects of the drug, the researchers said.
The study was conducted based on data from raves in the Netherlands from 1997 to 2008.
The findings were published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
