July 16th @ SUBA Nightclub

$10 at the door

Do you remember where YOU were in July 1995?

Come celebrate and remember 15 years of Toronto party culture for the TRIP! Project's fifteenth anniversary! TRIP! is a youth-led project that has been providing harm reduction info and supplies to Toronto party people since 1995. TRIP! will be launching our new subway-themed poster featuring a wide variety of information on safer sex and drug use. This party will be bringing it back to the oldschool sound of the underground massive. So bring out your whistles, vicks, hugs and glowstix for this superpowered raveapalooza!

JEN MAS (Vitus, USA)
TYCO VS SCOOTS (Goodfellaz)
PAUL REVERED (Old School Warehouse Set!!!)
DJ VIRUS

Hosted by Gobz the Zombie aka MC Gobstopper

Free body painting, photobooth, and silkscreening, plus freezies to keep you cool!


TRIP! Booth in full effect!

PLURR


-=-=-

Be sure to join us for the after party on Saturday featuring a panel discussing 15 years of TRIP! featuring past coordinators, volunteers and active members of the community:

Free Community BBQ

July 17th, 2pm.

Location: Queen West Health Centre

168 Bathurst St, at Queen. (Across from the Big Bop RIP)

RSVP on Facebook!

That white stuff, that yellow stuff, that pinkish stuff, that brown stuff, that really rocky stuff, that orange thing my friend told me to stay away from, that orange thing my other other friend  told me was amazing. How do you make sense of it all when appearances, when it comes to drugs, more often than not can be quite deceiving? You may or may not have noticed that as of late there has been an increase in the preference of MDMA over ecstasy as a party drug in our scene. There is no one single explanation for this and any one that I would dare offer would be based out of on my own opinion. However, what I can say is that there are frequent shifts in certain drug use often happen and with these shifts come new concerns.

One concern surrounding MDMA, particularly in Toronto, has been with about the effects of what some have described as "brown MDMA" that looks oily and waxy as opposed to crushed up and crystaline or powdery. When purchased, the substance appears to be a small sticky lumps inside of a capsule. This is still MDMA, it however has not been processed as many times as to achieve that fine crushed appearance. This often means that there is less likely a chance of it being cut with other substances, however this may cause the drug to be extremely potent. According to some people, this brown substance hits harder than the "white MDMA" causing people to get too high, too fast and in some cases, unexpectedly. The come up has also been said to cause heavy nausea because of it's intensity which can may result in some needing to vomit or in more extreme cases losing the ability to function properly (i.e., beginning to convulse on the ground). Coupled with being at certain events like outdoor parties where it is hard to find somewhere to be comfortable and potentially harder to seek help, this has worried a number of individuals.

Because of its physical state it also becomes more difficult to ingest in smaller amounts, as  snorting this is not really an option. People often and up taking the whole capsule, which for some can may be way too strong. A method for taking it in doses can be to empty the capsule and mix it in with a bottle of water, or an anti-oxidant such as cranberry juice or a drink with electrolytes such as Poweraid, and then continuously taking swigs throughout the evening. This controls one’s intake of the substance. It may not taste the best but it can may make or break your night. When taking a substance, always start with a low dose to see how your body will react to it before you decide to take more. Never take more than what you would usually take when trying a new batch or drug.

So what can you do if you or a friend find yourselves too high and uncomfortable with where you're at physically and mentally?

The first thing you should try to do is relax. Take a few sips of water (or juice) and find somewhere comfortable to sit. If you're at an outdoor event try to take a look at your surroundings and make  sure that there are no immediate dangers. If so there are, try to move away from them! Try to stick with your friends so that someone is there to take care of you if you need help. If you or your friends begin to experience difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness, seek help immediately. People with high blood pressure or on MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) are not recommended to use MDMA.

KNOW YOUR MIND, KNOW YOUR BODY, KNOW YOUR SOURCE

(TRIP neither condemns nor condones the use of drugs)

TRIP! Project - 1 Outreach Worker Position

12 Month Contract (June 2010 to June 30, 2011)

Average 24 hrs/month; $11.00/hr

Position Description    

The TRIP! Project, a project of Central Toronto Community Health Centres (CTCHC), provides safer sex and safer drug use education, information, and supplies, as well as counseling and referrals, to Toronto’s diverse dance music communities.  Working closely with the TRIP! Project Coordinator, this position will be supported to provide peer-based harm reduction education onsite at dance music events (parties), and will support project volunteers to provide accurate information on harm reduction, HIV prevention and safer drug use to the dance community. This position will work within a broader Harm Reduction team, and be responsible to the Program Director or designate.

Specific Responsibilities

·       Provide an average of 24 hours/month of outreach services at dance music events in Toronto each month

·       Provide appropriately tailored and accurate information on harm reduction, HIV prevention and safer drug use to the dance music community

·       Conduct ‘Online Outreach’ on dance music community-based message forums

·       Support TRIP! volunteers to provide appropriately tailored and accurate information on harm reduction, HIV prevention and safer drug use

·       Attend monthly volunteer meetings, and meetings with the TRIP! Project Coordinator

·       Work collaboratively with the TRIP! Project Coordinator and other TRIP! Outreach Workers, and participate in the Harm Reduction team and the broader CTCHC as required.

Qualifications

·       An active participant of Toronto’s dance music community; strong knowledge of and comfort with party culture/raving, partygoers/ravers, and Toronto’s dance music communities

·       Strong knowledge of HIV, drug use, and related issues, as well as risk and harm reduction strategies

·       Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

·       Excellent ability to take initiative and work independently, while also working closely with the TRIP! Project Coordinator and other TRIP! Outreach Workers

·       Demonstrated ability to support peer volunteers in providing health promotional outreach services

·       Positive attitude towards a diverse community

·       Ability to work long night shifts on weekends

·       Ability to express and invest creativity and positive energy into an incredible youth project

We are particularly seeking applications from qualified members of the groups traditionally under-represented in the workplace and the dance music community.

Please email cover letter and resume by Monday May 19^th by noon to:

SUBJECT HEADING: Hiring Committee – Job #QW300,

EMAIL ADDRESS: hiring@ctchc.com

No phone calls please. We regret that only those we wish to interview will be contacted.

TRIP! is conducting this survey to inform the work of the Toronto Safer Nightlife Committee, which was created to prevent alcohol-related violence and other harms in the Toronto bar/club scene. TRIP! provides safer sex and safer drug use information and supplies to party people in Toronto's diverse electronic music communities. We want to hear from youth (aged 19 -29) about their views on safety issues in the club/bar scene.  Click the image above to take the survey today!

The TRIP! Project was born in 1995 out of a need for appropriate drug and sex information within the Toronto rave scene. The act of partying often meant using drugs, and for some, being promiscuous. These activities, on their own as well as together, had the potential to put people at risk for drug dependencies, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and more. That's where TRIP came in. A recruitment process began with a community picnic, organized by Kim Stanford, at the time an HIV Educator working for Toronto Public Health. From there came the volunteers from within the community, who contributed their time, energy and creativity into making TRIP! a unique and innovative drug and sex education project.

Years later the project is still alive and kicking!  Help us celebrate our 15th Anniversary by contributing to a grassroots community photobook documenting Toronto party culture.  This crowd sourced photobook will be a community historical document in order to celebrate 15 years of party culture.  Photos of the TRIP! booth are encouraged, but all photos are welcome.  From old school parties at the Better Living Centre to Om Festival, we want to see your photos of Toronto's party scene throught the ages. Send us your photos in the bottom of your shoe box, your scanned rave fliers, pictures from Connected, Destiny, Hullabaloo, Empire, Liquid Adrenalin, Citrus, New Mind Space, Goodfellaz and much more. We want to represent from the old school to the new school, so any photos are good photos. 

Be sure to include information on who took the photo, where it was and the year to help us make our community time capsule. 

Send us your photos today by emailing lisa@tripproject.ca !

No need to feel too out of the loop, mephedrone has only very recently been showing up in our scene and has been commonly referred to as Max Volume in Toronto. Other names for it have included meow meow, stardust, max volume, MCAT, bubbles or just plain “plant food”.  Mephedrone has been a popular drug in the UK for quite some time now and was rated the fourth 4th more popular club drug, lagging behind coke, ecstasy and cannabis.

 Mephedrone has risen sharply in popularity in the UK because of its low price and availability. The drug was not known to police until approximately three ago, when mephedrone was reportedly linked to the death of two teenagers in several newspapers. It's important to keep in mind that it was later found that these deaths were not directly linked to use of the drug. 

So what is it anyway?

Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) is a stimulant which is closely chemically related to amphetamines. Users have reported that mephedrone produces a similar effect to drugs like amphetamines such as ecstasy and cocaine. Mephedrone is a white, off-white or yellowish powder which is usually snorted, but can also be ingested orally. This means that mephedrone may also be showing up in pressed pills as well as in packed capsules.

Mephedrone can also be used as plant fertilizer and was up until recently widely legally sold online under that purpose. Many websites that used to sell it such as plantfood2u.com and plant-food.net are now closed due to upcoming changes in the law which is making mephedrone nearly impossible today to purchase online. Follow MephedroneMan on Twitter for current updates on the the issues surrounding mephedrone.

 What exactly does it do?

Because mephedrone is still an emerging substance, there isn't a whole load of literature and research that has been done on it up to date. Even less so on its long term effects. There are, however, a significant amount of user reports. If you have used mephedrone and would like to share your experiences, you can send them here. Other interesting anecdotal information by users can be found here. 

The onset is generally from 10-20 minutes after consumption and has a duration of 2 to 3 hours, depending on the quality of the drug as well as the user.  The comedown is said to last an hour but some users have reported not be able to sleep for some time as well as an uncomfortable heart rate hours after consuming the drug.

Similarly to other stimulants, mephedrone has an impact on the heart and some users report heart palpitations and irregular or racing heartbeat which may last for quite some time after taking the drug. Other reported effects have been blurred vision, hot flashes, muscle tension as well as nausea and vomiting. As well as suppressing appetite, some people have reported that their fingers turned blue after taking the drug which may potentially be linked to bad blood circulation. If this happening to you or a friend, discontinue use and seek help immediately. 

Those who run the greatest risk of potential harm due to the bad blood circulation are those with high blood pressure. As well, using during pregnancy may harm the fetus by restricting blood flow thus resulting in low birth weight and poor development. 

 What should I watch out for?

Like any other drug, you should be careful with what other substances you mix mephedrone with. Another concern is that people have reported compulsively (meaning over and over and over again) taking the drug during a session. Some users have reported only intending to do a bit of mephedrone but unwillingly finishing their entire supply. This can lead to insomnia and heavy use in the long run can lead to psychological dependency, just like any amphetamine! It is recommended that your space out your highs and start off with a low dose.

Legal things you should know:

Mephedrone's legality in Canada is a murky area at the moment and much of the information available about its legal status contradicts itself. To be safe, you should treat mephedrone as an illegal substance when it comes to possession. 

Remember- new drugs always have a lot of hype around them. Before you make any decisions, be sure you know your sources!

A Dangerous Substance (Levamisole) is showing up with increasing
frequency in cocaine powder and crack cocaine! Levamisole is used to
treat worm infections in animals and it can severely reduce your number
of white blood cells.

There is no way of telling if your coke or crack is bad, it will
smell, taste and look the same!

If you use coke watch out for:

 • High fever or chills

• Skin abscesses, unexplainable
bruising particularly on hands, feet or ears

• Painful anal or oral sores

• Lung infection that appears to be
developing more rapidly than usual

Seek Medical Attention Immediately!

PLEASE HAVE YOUR DOCTOR NOTIFY YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH UNIT!

Levamicoke. Anything but the real thing.

For more info:

www.levamicoke.info

Erowid Cocaine Vaults : Cocaine Adulterated with Levamisole on the Rise

Throughout the year we keep on getting messages from people across Canada telling us that they wish they had the TRIP! Project in their community.  While we usually send out small care packages to communities outside of Toronto, there are a few TRIP! resources which are available for free across Canada, including shipping!  The CATIE (Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange) Ordering Centre is a national resource for free HIV/AIDS and Hep C resources. CATIE will ship you any information you want right to your door step or community centre! It's now easier than ever to start your own harm reduction project, as it doesn't matter if you're a grassroots youth collective in Nunavut or an established social services agency-- it's all free!

For a few years CATIE has been including our Safer Snorting resource both in French and English .  This month they've added two TRIP! resources to their roster, including both our Boyz on Boyz and Grrlz on Grrlz Sexual Health Postcards! We are so incredibly excited to be contributing to this national database and we hope that our materials will reach out across the country empowering youth to make health desicions about how they party.  On our new postcards we've included room for you to personalize the resource and put in your own contact information.  We are so pleased to be collaborating with CATIE again, and we hope to have more of our resources available in the future.