The results reportedly confirmed what many already suspected. I see the police visitor controls at free tekno events in Czechia as a kind of success. These operations have the potential to shut down the biggest (— adjusted for population size, Czechia has the largest) free tekno raving in Europe. And the reason lies in something fundamental to the culture of these events: drugs— narcotics.
For many in the free tekno scene, the presence of narcotics is not just common—it’s central. Without the free space for narcotics, the very essence of what free tekno has come to represent for its participants begins to fall apart.
In the world of free tekno, the unwritten rule seems to be: No narcotics, no rave. And when that is broken—when the risk becomes too high—the free tekno existence as it exists today can’t continue.
It might actually be a good idea these kinds of controls at all free tekno raves—because such pressure has the potential to shut down the free space for narcotic using. If these drug checks become routine, free tekno persons will become angry or disillusioned, simply because they can no longer “realize” themselves in the way they’re used to.
