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NEWS: Facts and figures partygoers shouldn't leave home without

lil angel15

lil angel15

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Sydney Morning Herald said:
Facts and figures partygoers shouldn't leave home without
Lisa Pryor
December 16, 2006

Life is a battle between Doctor Fun and Captain Sensible, especially at this time of year. The battle takes place all around us, not least at the outdoor music events that spring up over summer, with portaloos and cowboy hats, security wristbands and juice tents, bottled water and ecstasy.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Australians conscientiously object to the laws criminalising party drugs such as ecstasy. The safest place to conscientiously object, to put it euphemistically, is probably at one of these well-organised events. Medics are on hand, crowds are sprayed with water regularly and security guards are vigilant. Unlike a party in a private home, help can easily be sought for clammy and flickery-eyed friends.

Police and sniffer dogs have become a regular presence at these events. Two weeks ago, police charged 17 people with supplying prohibited drugs at the Homebake festival in the Domain. The week before that, 16 people were charged with drug offences at the Harbourlife dance party in the Botanic Gardens. Police seized ecstasy, cocaine, speed and cannabis. This leaves conscientious objectors with a dilemma. The safest place to take drugs is also the place where you are most likely to get caught.

So conscientious objectors who plan to take drugs at such an event this summer must ask themselves a question: what would Captain Sensible do?

Captain Sensible probably wouldn't take drugs at all. But if he did, he would take precautions to protect his future as well as his health.

Captain Sensible would know that three pills of ecstasy (0.75 grams) is considered a "traffickable quantity" and he would avoid carrying this many pills on him, even as a favour for friends. If you are carrying a traffickable quantity of drugs, police assume you are a drug dealer. If you are charged with possessing ecstasy, you face a maximum of two years in jail. If you are charged with dealing, you face 15 years in jail.

If Captain Sensible is caught with only one or two pills and is charged with possession, the most likely outcome is a fine rather than a jail sentence. Last year, 207 people whose worst offence was being caught with ecstasy were fined by NSW local courts, with an average fine of $376. Two were jailed.

But Captain Sensible would not take a fine lightly. He would know the consequences of a drug conviction are harsh. He might lose a dream job or be refused a United States visa, for example. He would certainly bring shame on the family at Christmas lunch.

So, to be extra safe, Captain Sensible would swallow his pill before leaving home. As well as avoiding sniffer dogs, he knows this is also a good way to ensure he does not take more pills than planned because he will not have extras on him to tempt him once he is intoxicated and believes the world is a beautiful, precious place that will never hurt him no matter how many pills he pops.

If Captain Sensible did carry drugs on him, he would never be so silly as to hide them in his shoes. He knows this makes it very hard to get rid of them quickly if he spots police or sniffer dogs in the distance. He would certainly never carry drugs on public transport, especially at well-policed train stations like Kings Cross or Central.

Most of all, Captain Sensible would be gentle with his brain. It has to last a long time. Staying sane and lucid is hard enough without drugs, it is much harder with them.

It is a shame drug laws conspire against drug takers who are naturally, in their hearts, Captain Sensibles. When drugs are cooked up in illegal labs, no one can be sure what each pill actually contains. When punishments are harsh, most users still get by without any real harm but the few who are sloppy or unlucky have their lives destroyed.

On the topic of injustice: why is the law so much harsher on ecstasy than cocaine or ice? You have to be carrying three grams of cocaine or ice for it to be considered "traffickable", compared with 0.75 grams for ecstasy. In dollar terms, that means that $90 worth of ecstasy is considered the equivalent of $600 worth of cocaine.
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SMH
 
Great article. That ol' captain sensible character is certainly a good one to consult on such matters =D

I believe he might also add that delayed release tablets would be a good idea if taking them before leaving home. This would avoid being too chopped while travelling to the event. Enteric coatings aren't difficult to incorporate into tablet design, and with the problems mentioned above I'm somewhat surprised there aren't more "bioavailability delayed " forms available. The market would be enormous. They could even be marketed with logos such as a turtle or a snail ;)

I guess variations seen with amounts deemed for supply, relates to potency and half life of each substance. While 100 mg of cocaine is usually enough for a hit, it needs to be topped up if the high is to be maintained. 100mg of MDMA on the other hand will usually go much further i.e. greater duration and intensity of effect
 
Problem with a time delayed pill is im assumeing that one would add more drug in the middle to compensate for the slow come one. Which is fine if one eats the pill but if someone powders it and snorts it...
 
Great article, really good stuff. The advice on how not to get caught sounds a bit risque... wonder if the police will respond to something like this.

According to the Victorian Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981, the traffickable quantity of MDMA is three grams, commonly rounded off to ten pills.

Some related threads on this:

Vic info on amounts
General info
Criminal Question
 
Bravo and Cheers Lisa Pryor! (author)

She has broken the mould on how we all receive our daily dose of drug stats. News and Current Affair programs who report on the perils of our modern day drug habits just aren't being received by people, and I think part of that is because of how it's presented. Article after article of what frequently is myopic and sensationalised reporting.

This is the first article where I haven't noticed a sensationalist slant in the reporting. The author didn't 'hype' up the issue simply to get people to read the piece. Instead of listing all the bad things that can happen if you get caught, in an attempt to scare people of course, what she has done is penned an honest article, one I'm sure many here could relate to. And it highlights that we should all take greater care. Weather that be to avoid detection by police or actually taking care of our health and welfare, well I guess thats in the eye of the beholder!

-matt-
 
I can see the Terrorgraph headlines now...


EXCLUSIVE - The FairFax journalist teaching our children to take deadly drugs and avoid capture!!
 
Very good article.

The safest place to take drugs is also the place where you are most likely to get caught
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I think this is the crux of the dilemma I see emerging with the increased police presence, arrests, sniffer dogs, drug driving vans. People who make these policies don't cater for the sensible person who still chooses to take drugs and would like to remain sensible!
 
Tronica said:
the sensible person who still chooses to take drugs and would like to remain sensible!
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hehe i cant help but chuckle at this, i love taking drugs, and always with the best intentions, although the party always seems to progress beyond the realm of sensibility. (not in a bad way)
 


What a wonderful article. Three cheers for Cap. Sensible...

May the good Cap. shine his/her light on the Captains in all of us.
 
I think the actually information presented in the piece is fair and reasonable, yet it is written like a year 7 kids adventure story. Who is their target audience?

Here are a few common sense things to think about before taking drugs kids.

Captain sensible say “Get googed at home before you leave children, or evil Mr Police Man will get you”

Sure there is no fear mongering, but does it have to be dumbed down so far?
 
Trafficking charges are dependant on weight. Not sure of the amount but you could have 2 chunky pills that weigh the amount which makes it possible to charge you with drug trafficking.
 
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