Editor’s Note: Tommie Sunshine is a true electronic dance music icon. He is opinionated and widely respected. Today, in light of the recent events, he offers up his thoughts and gives advice to the electronic dance music community.
This is the moment of truth for EDM & the scene that surrounds it. It is time for us all to step up & take control of this problem before the government does like it did a little over ten years ago. 
this is a moment for our community to band together to make things better. I hope everyone feels the same way.
— Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 1, 2013
having free water stations does nothing if you don’t educate kids that they HAVE TO drink water.
— Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 1, 2013
for the media or @USAgov to say that there were MDMA overdoses is a HUGE misappropriation of information; it’s a lie. — Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 1, 2013
when you step into an EDM festival you have not only the responsibility for yourself but for all those around you. — Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 1, 2013
√ honesty √ transparency √ accountability √ education √ prevention this is what will move our scene forward.
— Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 2, 2013
God bless Jeffrey Russ & Olivia Rotondo; may the scene & the media educate so your deaths are not in vain.
— Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 1, 2013
We can not let this happen again. I believe in personal freedom above all things but education & wise choices back that up. Be smart, keep an eye out for your fellow Ravers & spread love.
I love each & every one of you.
– Tommie Sunshine
ECSTASY PSA from Calico Works on Vimeo.
Well Said.
I think I’ll make a “rage stick” that says DRINK MORE WATER!
Honesty, Transparency, Accountability, Education, Prevention – these are all great things, but only if you’re mature enough to look in the mirror first.
A lie that there were ecstasy overdoses? Girl told EMTs she popped six mollies, and promptly passed out and started having seizures. The other guy was on who knows what – but was also found to have meth in his pocket. To try to claim that this isn’t about drugs – but water? That’s not very honest. The ONLY person pushing that theory is Tommy – and excuse me if I’m more inclined to believe the hundreds of other sources at this point that call this an overdose. If you take too much MDMA – it doesn’t matter how much water you drink, you’re in trouble. If the pills you took were cut with something nasty – it doesn’t matter how much water you drink, you’re in trouble. Period. Sometimes your body just might have a bad reaction, and you’re in trouble.
The honest truth is – as it has been for decades, there are plenty of people who talk a good game, but really just show up to eat a lot of drugs, act a fool – and go home. They don’t want your education, they don’t care about your love, and could give fuck all about your scene. Your music sounds cool while they’re off their nut.
Being able to talk about what’s going on without trying to toss all this fluff around, and being able to call a spade a spade without anybody getting butthurt – that’s transparency.
I get what you’re saying about “you’re responsible for the person next to you as well” – but first and foremost – you are responsible for yourself. You are responsible for your own well being, you are responsible for knowing what you’re putting in your body, you are responsible for the consequences if you fail to take your own well being into consideration when you make plans for the night. That’s accountability.
Like, I remember hearing this stuff back in the 90s – and to some extent it made sense back then. A lot of people didn’t really have access to the information that’s out there now. But this has been going on for how many decades now? These drugs have been around for how long? Who doesn’t have an internet connection? Who can’t take 5 minutes to look up what they’re putting in their body? That’s education.
Sorry – but I’m not, nor should I be responsible, because somebody else took too many drugs. I’m extremely libertarian when it comes to that. What you put in your body, and how you like to get down – hey – that’s all you, no problems. That means the consequences are all you as well though. This whole “we have to tell kids how to poison themselves responsibly” business is ridiculous. No – we don’t. And in fact doing so is an implicit acceptance, and an implicit admission of guilt that all the things people think about us and drugs are true. That’s WHY we keep having these problems crop up every few years. This crap isn’t acceptable, and shouldn’t be, and we shouldn’t be afraid to put it out there that it’s not. Screw “education” – act right, or stay home. Period.
Reagent test! clear pills with “molly” can be anything.
I live this life for a reason and its to live while not being on drugs. One of SHM’s last shows was amazing and I didn’t have to take anything to enjoy it help sread the word!
The change has to come within EVERYONE here.
I am ALL for education in that sense and perhaps on a college level (since the majority of those that die attend colleges), there needs to be a MANDATORY class on drug education that all incoming freshmen must take. We also have to “demonize” Molly somehow. For those of us back in the 80’s and early 90’s crack was the big scourge. People were killing, od’ing, crack pipes were all over the floor. Things were bad.
What REALLY killed crack wasn’t necessarily the law but that the drug itself was “dissed” within the ghetto communities. You became the lowest POS in the hood if you were still involved with crack. People would diss on you, and the one thing NO ONE wanted to be known as “in the hood” was being the lowest POS.
For me, the music gets me high. The energy around me gets me high. Fellow dance music fans alongside me got me “high”. And it was natural. Didn’t need anything “artificial” in me to get that way.
I’m also curious to what Tommy’s advice is for whoever raped that 16 year old girl? Am I responsible for that as well? Do you have some kind of information or fluffy talk about how not to rape at a party? Is that also a “scene” problem? Are we all to blame for that?