NEWS: MPs 'should go to rave parties' - Advertiser 4/7/06

MPs 'should go to rave parties'

LISA ALLISON 05jul06

DEMOCRATS MP Sandra Kanck wants politicians to attend rave parties to learn first-hand about the drugs they are legislating about.

The MLC also said yesterday that partygoers taking illicit drugs such as ecstasy should test the drugs themselves to check they are safe.

Ms Kanck, who attended the Winter Enchanted rave party last Saturday for research purposes, said she had gone with prominent doctor and prominent pro-drug testing campaigner Dr David Caldicott to see for herself what a "rave" was like. "I would like to see a lot of other MPs do the same," she said.

The move comes after her recent controversial comments to Parliament that ecstasy was not a dangerous drug. She "did not see a single pill" but said she had spoken to many people who wished "more politicians would come and look for themselves".

They included people who told her they tested their own pills. "(Two) people told me they have their own pill testing kits," she said. "Many of the kids are smart enough to know about these things - it is a sensible thing to do."

Her first preference was that people did not take the drugs, but in the absence of formal testing mechanisms, people should test their own.

"If the Government won't give approval for a supported trial then I think young people who are choosing to take illicit drugs should get hold of their own testing kits," Ms Kanck said. "The message has got to be 'protect yourself'." Dr Caldicott said Ms Kanck was one of the few politicians who had come to witness a rave for themselves.

"She was happy to listen to people telling her about a whole lot of things about a different drugs," Dr Caldicott said. "She probably knows a lot more about it now than most politicians."

He said the kits were widely available in shops and via the internet. Police confirmed the kits were not illegal.

Dr Caldicott was among a group of doctors, nurses and others who were surveying the 2000-plus crowd about issues including their attitudes to the new drug-driving laws and the term "recreational drugs"

Meanwhile, Democrats state president Richard Pascoe confirmed he was ready to tender his resignation at a party meeting on Monday night, but was talked out of it by members of the party's executive.

However, he is still considering his future with the party.

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KANCK SAYS RAVE PARTY SAFER THAN THE FRONT BAR
LISA ALLISON and SAM RICHES
06 Jul 2006

POLICE seized about 500 drug deals from a rave party that Democrats MP Sandra Kanck claims was a "far better environment" than a hotel bar.

Ms Kanck, who attended the rave on Saturday night and later urged all MPs to do the same as part of the drug debate, said yesterday she felt safer at the rave than in a hotel.

"These people using ecstasy and whatever they're using, they are not aggressive, they're not shouting, they're not fighting, you don't get people puking all over the place, it's a far, far better environment," Ms Kanck told ABC local radio.

"If I had a choice between being at a rave party and a hotel bar, I'd go to the rave party every time."

But police told The Advertiser last night four men were arrested at the Winter Enchanted rave on Saturday night, at the Night Train theatre restaurant in Light Square.

Police allege they were carrying more than 300 ecstasy tablets for sale as well as amphetamines, LSD, cannabis and about $1500 in cash. Twenty-one on-the-spot drug fines were also issued.

Police say some of those arrested are linked to motorcycle gangs.

Superintendent Paul Schramm said that while the rave party itself was relatively incident free, "it seemed more than a coincidence that we arrested four people for possessing a variety of drugs for sale".

He said raves were a common environment "for predators peddling their cocktail of drugs" to young people.

This is the third time Ms Kanck has controversially entered the drug debate. The MP previously:

TOLD State Parliament in May that "ecstasy is not a dangerous drug . . . We have been told the ecstasy is a dangerous substance. We do not have the evidence".

URGED fellow MPs on Tuesday to attend rave parties to learn first-hand about drugs related to legislation they are debating. At the rave, she was accompanied by drug testing campaigner Dr David Caldicott and another doctor.

Yesterday, Ms Kanck said the Government needed to introduce a pill-testing trial so users would be alerted if ecstasy pills were not pure. "If I were in a venue where there were 3000 people drinking alcohol and in a venue where there were 3000 people taking ecstasy, I believe I would be safer in the venue where people were taking ecstasy," she said.

"I believe they (raves) would be safe for the majority of people."

She said people who were breaking the law, however, should be prosecuted.

Ms Kanck was aware of some arrests in relation to drugs and said she knew of one person from the rave who had been admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital after taking drugs.

Dr Caldicott, an emergency physician at Royal Adelaide Hospital, said the number of alcohol-affected people in the emergency department after big cricket matches outnumbered rave-related admissions by up to six times.

Anti-drugs MLC Ann Bressington said Ms Kanck's latest comments were irresponsible. "I think she is undermining parents' and educators' efforts to stop people from using drugs," she said.

"She is not talking about a party. She is talking about a drug scene where ecstasy is taken."

Ms Bressington conceded Ms Kanck made her comments in relation to harm minimisation.

"But what she should be saying is there is no room in our society for mind-altering drugs. Ecstasy . . . is known to cause brain damage."

She implored Ms Kanck to come to a drug rehabilitation centre with her to see the effects of illicit drugs.

Health Minister John Hill said MPs could educate themselves about drug taking by visiting emergency department and mental health wards.

A spokeswoman for Premier Mike Rann said he would not be attending a rave "any time soon", while Democrats state president Richard Pascoe, who already has a strained relationship with Ms Kanck, said he was "lost for words".

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hoptis
"But what she should be saying is there is no room in our society for mind-altering drugs. Ecstasy . . . is known to cause brain damage."

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Dr Caldicott, an emergency physician at Royal Adelaide Hospital, said the number of alcohol-affected people in the emergency department after big cricket matches outnumbered rave-related admissions by up to six times.

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ilikeacid said:

Doesn’t that make you mad! So often do politicians and other uninformed fools point to the "terrible health risks" of taking drugs.. Looks like cricket can be more dangerous 8)

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