Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
- Joined
- Nov 3, 1999
- Messages
- 84,998
A ZERO-tolerance crackdown on drug-riddled dance festivals will give police the power to stop and search any patron without reason.
The radical overhaul aims to stamp out the illicit drug use that has caused a spate of deaths and mass overdoses in recent years.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal Victoria Police and the state government are in talks to change the law to increase the scope for officers to search festival-goers.
An overdose involving more than 20 revellers at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl earlier this year has helped spur the action.
Paramedics are responding to more than 10,600 illicit drug call-outs statewide a year — equal to 30 emergencies a day.
Under the change, police would no longer require “reasonable suspicion” — the indication a person has committed or is about to commit an offence — to look for drugs. It is believed the new laws would apply inside and outside festival venues.
Emergency services are alarmed at escalating use of such illicit drugs amphetamines, GHB, ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances.
The location of “bush doof” raves is increasing the risk, with patrons often hundreds of kilometres from proper medical care.
Stampedes, like the New Year’s Eve Falls Festival crush which injured up to 80 people, will be an additional focus of the changes.
Any organisers of large-scale events who fail to provide proper safety will held to greater account.
Drugged drivers departing events while high and without sleep are also part of the clampdown.
Police Minister Lisa Neville told the Sunday Herald Sun: “There has been very serious harm caused by drugs at music festivals.”
“This is about protecting lives and ensuring music festivals are great places for young people to get together — not places for tragedies.”
Music festivals where there is intelligence of drug problems would be made designated events under the Major Sporting Events Act to enable police to use greater powers.
Ms Neville said she was also looking at law changes to would require police to be involved in safety planning for festivals, so organisers were accountable for what they were doing to minimise risk of drug dealing.
They would face greater scrutiny on other safety issues like stampedes.
The existing planning system for music festivals operates through local council permits.
Ms Neville, who has a son aged 20, slammed a push for pill testing at public events as an alternative to a zero-tolerance approach.
“There is actually no way you can test properly for what is contained in particular drugs,’’ she said.
“As a parent, I wouldn’t want someone telling my son that this drug is safe when it can’t be guaranteed.
“I’d like to prevent drugs from being purchased altogether in those situations.
“You wouldn’t be using it for Moomba — it’s those festivals where you know that there are going to be significant arrests around distribution of harmful drugs.”
Several deaths have been recorded at music festivals in recent years, including 22-year-old Kensington man Jacob Langford, who in January collapsed at the Rainbow Serpent Festival in Victoria’s west after skolling a poisonous substance meant for inhaling.
Daniel Buccianti, 34, died at the same event in 2012 after taking “bad acid” with his mother later calling for drugs to be legalised and made at reputable laboratories.
In February more than 20 people — many fighting for life — were taken to hospital after a mass overdose of GHB, a form of liquid ecstasy, at the Electric Parade dance party at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Revellers treated at Electric Parade festival and White Night
The Earthcore event, held in central Victoria, has also copped criticism over rampant drug use.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Lisa Beechey told the Sunday Herald Sun the safety and security of attendees and the broader community must be the a primary concern for festival organisers.
“Victoria Police is concerned about drug use and fatal overdoses across the state, including any drug activity which occurs at music festivals,’’ Ms Beechey said.
“Events that are poorly managed can increase safety risks and lead to calls for police assistance.
“Police are currently in discussion with government and stakeholders about broadening the scope of the Major Sporting Events Act.
“The powers under the act, including search powers, do not currently apply to music festivals.”
Ms Beechey added: “Enforcement forms an important pillar in minimising drug harm.”
“Police play an active role in detecting and disrupting drug trade, be that at festivals, events or in the wider community,’’ she said.
“However, drug use is a whole of community issue which requires a collaborative approach to address.”
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Assoc Prof Tony Walker, in a recent parliamentary inquiry submission, said illicit drug abuse was putting unprecedented pressure on paramedics, drawing resources away from the wider community.
Call-outs have doubled over the past five years — surging nearly 20 per cent in the past 12 months alone.
“This has led to the death of individual patrons and several mass-overdose incidents,’’ Assoc Prof Walker wrote.
“These mass overdose incidents involve multiple patients with an immediate threat to their life due to depressed conscious states and depressed respiratory function.
“These events are occurring increasingly in regional and remote areas where access to suitable medical facilities, including intensive care, is both limited and delayed by distance.
“These events resultantly impact not only on health of patrons, but also on the availability of ambulance services to the broader community.”
Melbourne and Yarra are among metropolitan illicit drug hot spots with Geelong and Latrobe regional problem areas.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/la...s/news-story/989cf21eaaed485ca5c0c81c85aed3ba
The radical overhaul aims to stamp out the illicit drug use that has caused a spate of deaths and mass overdoses in recent years.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal Victoria Police and the state government are in talks to change the law to increase the scope for officers to search festival-goers.
An overdose involving more than 20 revellers at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl earlier this year has helped spur the action.
Paramedics are responding to more than 10,600 illicit drug call-outs statewide a year — equal to 30 emergencies a day.
Under the change, police would no longer require “reasonable suspicion” — the indication a person has committed or is about to commit an offence — to look for drugs. It is believed the new laws would apply inside and outside festival venues.
Emergency services are alarmed at escalating use of such illicit drugs amphetamines, GHB, ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances.
The location of “bush doof” raves is increasing the risk, with patrons often hundreds of kilometres from proper medical care.
Stampedes, like the New Year’s Eve Falls Festival crush which injured up to 80 people, will be an additional focus of the changes.
Any organisers of large-scale events who fail to provide proper safety will held to greater account.
Drugged drivers departing events while high and without sleep are also part of the clampdown.
Police Minister Lisa Neville told the Sunday Herald Sun: “There has been very serious harm caused by drugs at music festivals.”
“This is about protecting lives and ensuring music festivals are great places for young people to get together — not places for tragedies.”
Music festivals where there is intelligence of drug problems would be made designated events under the Major Sporting Events Act to enable police to use greater powers.
Ms Neville said she was also looking at law changes to would require police to be involved in safety planning for festivals, so organisers were accountable for what they were doing to minimise risk of drug dealing.
They would face greater scrutiny on other safety issues like stampedes.
The existing planning system for music festivals operates through local council permits.
Ms Neville, who has a son aged 20, slammed a push for pill testing at public events as an alternative to a zero-tolerance approach.
“There is actually no way you can test properly for what is contained in particular drugs,’’ she said.
“As a parent, I wouldn’t want someone telling my son that this drug is safe when it can’t be guaranteed.
“I’d like to prevent drugs from being purchased altogether in those situations.
“You wouldn’t be using it for Moomba — it’s those festivals where you know that there are going to be significant arrests around distribution of harmful drugs.”
Several deaths have been recorded at music festivals in recent years, including 22-year-old Kensington man Jacob Langford, who in January collapsed at the Rainbow Serpent Festival in Victoria’s west after skolling a poisonous substance meant for inhaling.
Daniel Buccianti, 34, died at the same event in 2012 after taking “bad acid” with his mother later calling for drugs to be legalised and made at reputable laboratories.
In February more than 20 people — many fighting for life — were taken to hospital after a mass overdose of GHB, a form of liquid ecstasy, at the Electric Parade dance party at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Revellers treated at Electric Parade festival and White Night
The Earthcore event, held in central Victoria, has also copped criticism over rampant drug use.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Lisa Beechey told the Sunday Herald Sun the safety and security of attendees and the broader community must be the a primary concern for festival organisers.
“Victoria Police is concerned about drug use and fatal overdoses across the state, including any drug activity which occurs at music festivals,’’ Ms Beechey said.
“Events that are poorly managed can increase safety risks and lead to calls for police assistance.
“Police are currently in discussion with government and stakeholders about broadening the scope of the Major Sporting Events Act.
“The powers under the act, including search powers, do not currently apply to music festivals.”
Ms Beechey added: “Enforcement forms an important pillar in minimising drug harm.”
“Police play an active role in detecting and disrupting drug trade, be that at festivals, events or in the wider community,’’ she said.
“However, drug use is a whole of community issue which requires a collaborative approach to address.”
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Assoc Prof Tony Walker, in a recent parliamentary inquiry submission, said illicit drug abuse was putting unprecedented pressure on paramedics, drawing resources away from the wider community.
Call-outs have doubled over the past five years — surging nearly 20 per cent in the past 12 months alone.
“This has led to the death of individual patrons and several mass-overdose incidents,’’ Assoc Prof Walker wrote.
“These mass overdose incidents involve multiple patients with an immediate threat to their life due to depressed conscious states and depressed respiratory function.
“These events are occurring increasingly in regional and remote areas where access to suitable medical facilities, including intensive care, is both limited and delayed by distance.
“These events resultantly impact not only on health of patrons, but also on the availability of ambulance services to the broader community.”
Melbourne and Yarra are among metropolitan illicit drug hot spots with Geelong and Latrobe regional problem areas.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/la...s/news-story/989cf21eaaed485ca5c0c81c85aed3ba
