A BOY'S DOUBLE LIFE; MOTHER TELLS OF PERSONAL ORDEAL AS SON SLIPS INTO `RAVE' CULTURE.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

She has watched in agony as her son changed from a thriving athlete to a drug-user addicted to a dance culture that has lured thousands of teens to isolated areas where rampant drugs, overcrowding and lack of supervision could be a lethal combination.

Her fear turned into anger when she learned her son was at last weekend's ``rave'' party in the Angeles National Forest, where five teens were killed when their car plummeted 1,200 feet off the Angeles Crest Highway.

The mother, a local resident who asked not to be named, said parents need to open their eyes to the rave culture that is seducing teens and young adults.

``I thought, `This could be my son and his friends,' so I was really angry,'' she said. ``It's an adult-awareness issue because we're the ones who are supposed to be setting a moral tone. If the adults don't know something is going on, there is nothing they can do about it.''

She admits the road to discovery of her son's double life began with reluctance and her maternal belief that her son wouldn't be involved with drugs.

But she could no longer ignore the signs.

Around April, her then 17-year-old son began losing weight fast. The 150-pound teen dropped 15 pounds in a month and the once-diligent student barely graduated from Saugus High School this year.

``His circle of friends had changed,'' she said. ``The next thing I knew, he changed from dressing conservatively to wearing baggy pants. He went from being a loving kid to a very disrespectful kid.''

She began to see a different side of her son, someone who liked to dance and who kept distant from his parents.

The first time he asked if he could go to a dance club, she said ``no,'' but later agreed on condition she and her daughter also go to the North Hollywood venue to check it out.

``I was convinced it was an OK place for him to be at,'' she said. ``That was the beginning of the dance odyssey for him.''

When her son asked to go to a rave party in San Bernardino, the family reached another compromise, the teen's father would drive him there and wait out in the parking lot for him at 1 a.m.

After that party, the teen began attending raves without asking permission.

In April, the mother confirmed her suspicions about her son's double life after she came across a journal in which he described his experiences with rave parties and the corollary drug use.

Not long after, she found crystal ``ecstacy'' and alcohol in his room and walked in on him sucking a pacifier, a common habit among teens attending rave parties, which are promoted as all-night dance parties.

Her son later told her that sucking on the pacifier helped control his teeth after he used drugs.

Although no alcohol is allowed at rave locations, rave-goers have acknowledged and almost bragged about how they sneak in drugs such as ``E'' slang for ecstacy, a hallucinogen causing euphoria, Gammahydroxybutyrate or GHB, a liquid form of ecstacy and Special K, a tranquilizer.

On Thursday, undercover agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency arrested Hugh ``Scotty'' McLetchie for selling LSD from a snow cone concession stand run by an acquaintance at the rave party held at the Snowcrest ski resort Aug. 28, according to a federal complaint. That was the party attended by the five teens who died.

McLetchie told DEA agents some people who bought the LSD were 17 or 18 years old, officials said.

Before entering raves, partygoers hide their drugs in their shoes, sleeves, socks, mouth or hair to get past security, police said.

Thousands of teens clad in baby attire and baggy clothes gather at warehouses, theaters and nightclubs and dance throughout the night to blaring techno music while sucking on pacifiers and waving florescent glow sticks.

They find the raves by going to specified locations that distribute fliers with a number to call for directions.

``The promoters really try to keep the location a secret until the last minute,'' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Peters. ``That's really the mystique.''

The day of the event, partygoers usually call a number to find out where the event will be held.

Voice mail messages may also be left for those who did not get into an event, as is the case for a ``festival'' Aug. 21 dubbed Narnia 1999.

A recorded message thanked the more than 7,000 attendees for coming and ``rocking through the night'' until 9 a.m. and expressed dissatisfaction with the way law enforcement handled the event that night.

``We don't want to thank the sheriff for turning away about 200 to 300 cars,'' the message stated.

The recording asked those who did not get in to hold on to their tickets for a future event.

``We are planning a special thank-you party to make it up to you, so please hold on to your membership and stay in touch with our voice mail line for the thank-you party date,'' the recording said.

Raves have become an international phenomenon, sweeping through countries such as Canada, England and France, officials said.

Interested partygoers can click onto numerous Web sites to get information about the underground culture.

Promoters often seek large open areas that draw little attention from nearby residents or other law enforcement agencies.

``Most of the time, they don't like organized law enforcement and want their own security so they can set the rules'', Peters said.

After hearing about the fate of the five teens last weekend, the Saugus mother found out her son had been there.

He told his mother he had gone just to dance, that he didn't use any drugs.

Since then, the family has been in counseling. The teen regained the weight he lost and told his mother he has been drug-free for the last 2 -1/2 months.

She wants more than anything to believe him, but stops short of allowing herself to be blinded by trust again.

For that reason, she began to educate herself on the subculture that has captivated teens as young as 13, and she initiated a campaign to warn parents on the dangers of rave parties and the motives of persons who promote them.

``I think promoters of rave parties are very devious people. Their bottom line is money - It's a multimillion-dollar industry,'' she said.

Local officials said rave parties have not penetrated the Santa Clarita Valley, given that overcrowding, traffic snafus, drugs and lack of security at such events are recipes for disaster.

Officials did recall one rave party that occurred over the Memorial Day weekend off The Old Road in the Newhall Pass at Paintball USA.

Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste heard the blaring music from her home in Placerita Canyon.

``I was up all night,'' she said. ``I got up and went over there and was pretty shocked by what I saw.''

Weste saw teens apparently under the influence of drugs or alcohol get into cars and drive away.

``I saw a couple of thousand vehicles impact the highway, there was little or no supervision, law enforcement or any visible security,'' she said.

It was later learned that the property owner, Michael Schwartz, did not have a permit for the party.

In the case of the five teens who died last weekend, the California Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause. Tests are pending to verify if the victims had used drugs.

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