You know how there are trends that seem to hit every now and then and become popular, but theres no obvious reason why? Well, for a few years now, a trend that has been snowballing is rave scene. Raves have never really gone away, but surprisingly rave parties are begining to slowly pop up in Long Beach.

 Deep techno and trance beats boom out of four-foot speakers. The backyard, where the sound is coming from is not big enough to contain these loud songs, so the music spills into the neighborhood and it attracts swarms of teenagers and young adults. As these young people walk into the backyard and pay the cover price, a combination of marijuana and tobacco smoke cloud the air and bright lasers shoot out into the night, illuminating their path in the thick smoke.

 With these parties come all of the drugs that surrounded the culture from its origin. It is hard to believe but ecstasy, weed, GHB, and Rohypnol are making their way into the city and their biggest consumers are high school students. Drugs that are consumed at these parties can have lastng psychological effects, that can lead to strong aggression, and they can even be used to take advantage of unsuspecting girls.

Drugs can enhance the rave experience and make for a few hours of pleasureable experience, but little do these kids know the internal damage it is causing.

 "I love coming to these parties and feeling the music, I like getting to know all of these people, and I love doing the Noz," says Jordan High School Student Stephanie R. with a big red balloon filled with the gas. She and her friends surround the tank that a couple guys are using to destribute Noz, the stuff used in cars to make them go faster.

 "Balloons are three for five dollars man...I can make like $150 a night, maybe more depending on how people are feeling. I hit house parties like this two, maybe three days a week," expains the guy selling the drug.

 Alcohol is the smallest problem these kids face. The mini-raves are littered with young kids just laying down or leaning against the wall by the end of the night; weather this is because they are too tired from dancing around, they could have passed out, or they're just too high to walk. The sight was almost unbelievable.

 When you were young, did you ever attend one of these prties? House parties have changed a lot over the years, what is your idea of a house party? What would you do if you knew of one of these parties going on in your neighborhood? What do you think can be done to help stop this trend among young people? Did you know this was a scene/issue in Long Beach? What do you know about the rave scene? Do you know anyone who was or is addicted to hard drugs? Let it be known below.

562CityLife is in part funded by a Long Beach Community Foundation Connected Corridor grant supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Transformation Initiative.