I still see attempts at drug use similar to the ’90s gabbers in some places. I’ve been researching the reasons — whether the gabbers gave up the unsustainable lifestyle on their own, or if it was political.
Here’s the post about it…
Step Back From The Overdose
At the center of it all was speed — lots of it. Amphetamines, MDMA, LSD (even combined together) weren’t just part of the experience; they were the experience. Ravers pushed themselves to the edge of physical and mental limits, weekend after weekend. As the scene exploded in popularity, tragedies followed — young ravers collapsed, overdosed, or ended up in hospitals after taking unknown pills or mixing too much too fast.
But by the end of the decade, the scene had pulled back. What happened?
For many original gabbers, the lifestyle wasn’t sustainable. You can only run on speed and no sleep for so long before your body shuts down — and your mind with it. People started disappearing from the scene, not because they stopped loving the music, but because their nervous systems were wrecked. Panic attacks, depression, paranoia — these weren’t rare cases; they were common exits.
And to the main reason why drugs were pulled back, belong:
* Public health groups like Unity and Jellinek entered clubs, handing out honest info, offering drug testing, and educating ravers without judgment.
They distributed flyers, information cards, and offered drug testing at events, which helped reduce overdoses and raise awareness. The Dutch government adopted a pragmatic, non-punitive drug policy, which paradoxically made it easier to talk openly about drugs and their dangers.
* Media panic over overdoses sparked fear — even if exaggerated — and forced clubs and promoters to take safety more seriously.
A string of high-profile drug-related deaths, especially involving overdoses and bad batches, caused moral panic in the media. This created pressure on promoters to tighten safety rules and distance their events from the drug-fueled reputation.
* Commercialization shifted gabber from underground rebellion to mainstream youth culture. As the music softened, so did the drug culture.
- Gabber, originally a raw underground movement, became more commercialized by the mid to late 90s. With this shift came a broader and younger audience who didn’t necessarily share the same “hardcore” drug culture. The music also changed — from the raw Rotterdam-style hardcore to happy hardcore, attracting more mainstream ravers, often teens.
* Burnout hit hard. Many original gabbers couldn’t physically or mentally sustain the lifestyle and either quit or moved on.
- By the end of the 90s, many of the original gabbers aged out or experienced burnout from the intense lifestyle. Many simply couldn’t sustain the level of speed and MDMA use long-term without severe mental and physical consequences. Some moved on to techno, trance, or even dropped the scene entirely.
* Local governments began regulating events, requiring safety measures that made chaotic drug excess harder to maintain.
- Although Dutch drug policy was tolerant, local governments and police cracked down on illegal raves and unsafe venues. Promoters were forced to meet safety standards, provide medical staff, and sometimes even allow on-site drug testing. More organized events meant less tolerance for chaotic, drug-fueled excess.
The extreme drug use didn’t just vanish overnight — it lost its centrality. And the culture matured. And crucially, it did so without needing a full-scale moral panic or brutal crackdown.
In that sense, the Netherlands did something rare: it trusted its youth enough to educate them, not punish them. And over time, it worked better than repression ever could.
