An annual international conference focused on the economic and social impact of nightlife is headed to San Francisco. The eighth addition of Club Health is scheduled for May 28-30 at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins.
The three-day event centers around discussions of how to better manage large-scale club events as well as how to prevent violence and substance abuse at these massive gatherings. Speakers include Joseph Pred of the Black Rock City Emergency Services Department, which oversees Burning Man; Jocelyn Kane, president of the San Francisco Entertainment Commission; and Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of Drug Policy Alliance.
Registration is now open for the conference. It is hosted by DanceSafe, a non-profit harm reduction organization founded in San Francisco in 1998. DanceSafe's early years were met with sensational media coverage from reporters at major networks who were scandalized by the founding policy to test people's pills at parties for the presence of Ecstasy and hand them back to the person regardless of results, but the organization's enduring and expanding dedication to reducing substance abuse has outlived the initial skepticism.
