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Finn
http://www.egroups.com/group/Bluelight_Stall
Finn
Bluelight Stall - Sydney : where to now?
- Thread starter Finn
- Start date
Can i ask, how are you gonna get people to hand over their pills in public, like i think you should put maybe educating flyers out first, im being very vague, and i work in advertising and i know that you cant get people to give stuff valuble to them (in this case it may be their night out and their pill or not getting caught by coppers, in front of the pill testing stand) without telling why its good for them first, and what benefits they will receive, by approaching the happy people at what people will concieve to be at first as just "a pill testing stand". by people i mean "not bluelight"
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its that feeling you get....oh yeah Fukitzpumpin!!!
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its that feeling you get....oh yeah Fukitzpumpin!!!
stylin, firstly, we will need to run it by the police before proceding, to make sure they're not gonna bust people.. also, we'd most likely do it behind a screen so its not totally out in the open..
the literature we are working on will hopefully elucidate some of what we are getting at, but i think as word spreads (and is spreading) about the benefits of testing, more and more ppl will be into it.
we might need to think about raising some awareness tho. i remember one time asym and i were looking to get something, and this guy had something and we werent sure about it so we said "lets go back to our car and we'll test it, if its e, we'll take it" and he backed off *totally* he was like "you guys arent cops are you?!?" and we tried to explain the test thingie and where we got it but he was so suspicious. so there might be a bit of an issue there..
the literature we are working on will hopefully elucidate some of what we are getting at, but i think as word spreads (and is spreading) about the benefits of testing, more and more ppl will be into it.
we might need to think about raising some awareness tho. i remember one time asym and i were looking to get something, and this guy had something and we werent sure about it so we said "lets go back to our car and we'll test it, if its e, we'll take it" and he backed off *totally* he was like "you guys arent cops are you?!?" and we tried to explain the test thingie and where we got it but he was so suspicious. so there might be a bit of an issue there..
D
D&AWg
Guest
Hey bananafish.... yes, Paul Dillon would be a useful guy to talk to. Alex Wodak travels a lot so if you want to talk to him I suggest you keep calling him back. He knows a lot about the politics behind the safe-injecting room project and last year's Drug Summit. Politics will make or break this project too. My feeling is that at some point you may need to be operating under the umbrella of an existing D&A service in order to have clout and credibility. The "just say no to drugs" camp will be out to discredit you and if they can portray you as a bunch of drug-using netheads they will. How you conduct your PR will be crucial too. Anyway far be it from me to cast gloom on this - you're going about it exactly the right way and as has been said, it will be a long-term project.
hey finn
there's a lot of duplication re:sydney pill testing b/w two threads.
Bluelight Stall Meeting - Sunday 22nd October 4pm(Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East meetups)
&
Bluelight Stall - Sydney : where to now?( Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East Drug Discussion )
can u nominate one thread for us to use and close the other thread.
cheers
there's a lot of duplication re:sydney pill testing b/w two threads.
Bluelight Stall Meeting - Sunday 22nd October 4pm(Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East meetups)
&
Bluelight Stall - Sydney : where to now?( Australia/Asia/NZ/Middle East Drug Discussion )
can u nominate one thread for us to use and close the other thread.
cheers
bananafish
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2000
- Messages
- 109
Right on, Mona! Thanks. When I get the stuff emailed up from Haste and we work on it, I'll send it to you for comments, etc.
D&AWg,
I totally agree with everything you're saying about politics and auspicing. I am talking with a couple of services at the moment, but obviously we need to have a well prepared proposal to offer. To my understanding, the Sydney project is in no way linked to Bluelight, in order to minimise the risk of exactly the situation you describe. Thanks very much for all your comments (keep 'em coming!).
D&AWg,
I totally agree with everything you're saying about politics and auspicing. I am talking with a couple of services at the moment, but obviously we need to have a well prepared proposal to offer. To my understanding, the Sydney project is in no way linked to Bluelight, in order to minimise the risk of exactly the situation you describe. Thanks very much for all your comments (keep 'em coming!).
bananafish
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2000
- Messages
- 109
Here are the minutes (such as they are!) from the Sydney meeting on Sunday:
Present were Finn, yaytima, j_swift and bananafish.
LEGAL ISSUES
1. bananafish is researching issues of possession, accessory, torts of negligence, liability disclaimers and stall permission with various bodies including RLC, and on the net.
2. Finn is researching links with the NSW Police Service, who were involved in developing the dance party safety protocol for promoters.
3. We need somebody to research insurance issues for stallholders and promoters. Somebody please put your hand up.
ETHICS
1. Finn is researching international pill testing protocols to cover our ethical responsibilities, as well as the national dance party safety protocol, which outlines the ethical responsibilities of promoters (yes, it IS illegal to turn off the cold water taps in venues).
2. bananafish's research with D&A workers suggests we have a duty of care to provide harm minimisation interventions alongside pilltesting. Will follow as closely as possible established health department procedures.
HEALTH PROMOTION/ HARM MINIMISATION
1. bananafishis researching and developing data collection and evaluation tools for the project, incl. chasing Health Promotion Unit. Big Trancercan you please email me any ideas/ roughs/ references for the data collection process you described earlier?
2. We need to gather as much solid drug and drug safety information as possible for the pamphlets/ flyers/ wallet cards handed out as part of the harm minimisation intervention. Can somebody with appropriate skills and knowledge please step forward to co-ordinate this? bananafish will also chase same from D&A.
3. bananafish will research the actual brief intervention procedure with D&A contacts who have offered support.
4. bananafish and Finn will investigate medical issues and support of St. John's.
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
1. We await email from Haste with work thus far on project mission statement, project objectives, policies, strategic plan, and will work on it from there.
2. Finn is investigating standardised procedures for testing and reporting to punters.
3. We will devise standardised procedures for approaching promoters, setting up stalls, etc. a wee bit further down the track.
4. bananafish and j_swift will research OH&S procedures(eg. Hazardous chemicals, hygiene.)
5. Contractual requirements for stall attendants were discussed, with suggested requirements including a first aid certificate (Finn may be able to organise a special course for us all), standardised training, and a sobriety policy.
BUSINESS ISSUES
1. Finn will investigate becoming a not-for-profit organisation, registration of business name, ABN requirements, etc.
2. Everyone feel free to think of a superlative business name!!
FINANCIAL ISSUES
1. No massive cheques received in the mail as yet, but here's hoping!
2. Committee will investigate best way to raise funds, including donations from locked box at stall, promoters, commerce gateway on website, philanthropic trusts.
PROJECT PROMOTION
1. yaytima is compiling a database of promoters, and would like all known contacts to be forwarded to her, as noted in her post.
2. We will get onto banners/ cards, webpage hosting, etc, further down the track.
3. Avant Card were involved in the fairly recent "Speedwise-Speedsafe" campaign, and Finn will research contacts for that. We'll need a graphic designer to do a series of cards with project publicity and harm minimisation content. (Sure there's a few designers around here!
)
MEDIA REPRESENTATION
1. Once we are ready to go public we will work across radio, street press and internet media with formal promotional press releases. We'd be looking at 2SER, Triple J, K-Grind, Sydney Tribe, Spraci, Chaos Music and In the Mix, among others. milkybar would you be willing to co-ordinate the PR???
Okay, I think that's it. Let me know if I missed anything.
IF YOU CAN PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE WHATSOEVER IN ANY OF THESE AREAS, PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND ADDRESS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF IT. (INDICATED IN ITALICS).
There is a clear momentum and focus developing, and the project is really starting to take shape. Yipeeeee!
Thanks, everybody! xx
bananafish
P.S. j_swift if you see anything listed above that you can do this week, can you email me, as would love your help! Thanks, buddy!
[This message has been edited by bananafish (edited 24 October 2000).]
Present were Finn, yaytima, j_swift and bananafish.
LEGAL ISSUES
1. bananafish is researching issues of possession, accessory, torts of negligence, liability disclaimers and stall permission with various bodies including RLC, and on the net.
2. Finn is researching links with the NSW Police Service, who were involved in developing the dance party safety protocol for promoters.
3. We need somebody to research insurance issues for stallholders and promoters. Somebody please put your hand up.
ETHICS
1. Finn is researching international pill testing protocols to cover our ethical responsibilities, as well as the national dance party safety protocol, which outlines the ethical responsibilities of promoters (yes, it IS illegal to turn off the cold water taps in venues).
2. bananafish's research with D&A workers suggests we have a duty of care to provide harm minimisation interventions alongside pilltesting. Will follow as closely as possible established health department procedures.
HEALTH PROMOTION/ HARM MINIMISATION
1. bananafishis researching and developing data collection and evaluation tools for the project, incl. chasing Health Promotion Unit. Big Trancercan you please email me any ideas/ roughs/ references for the data collection process you described earlier?
2. We need to gather as much solid drug and drug safety information as possible for the pamphlets/ flyers/ wallet cards handed out as part of the harm minimisation intervention. Can somebody with appropriate skills and knowledge please step forward to co-ordinate this? bananafish will also chase same from D&A.
3. bananafish will research the actual brief intervention procedure with D&A contacts who have offered support.
4. bananafish and Finn will investigate medical issues and support of St. John's.
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
1. We await email from Haste with work thus far on project mission statement, project objectives, policies, strategic plan, and will work on it from there.
2. Finn is investigating standardised procedures for testing and reporting to punters.
3. We will devise standardised procedures for approaching promoters, setting up stalls, etc. a wee bit further down the track.
4. bananafish and j_swift will research OH&S procedures(eg. Hazardous chemicals, hygiene.)
5. Contractual requirements for stall attendants were discussed, with suggested requirements including a first aid certificate (Finn may be able to organise a special course for us all), standardised training, and a sobriety policy.
BUSINESS ISSUES
1. Finn will investigate becoming a not-for-profit organisation, registration of business name, ABN requirements, etc.
2. Everyone feel free to think of a superlative business name!!
FINANCIAL ISSUES
1. No massive cheques received in the mail as yet, but here's hoping!
2. Committee will investigate best way to raise funds, including donations from locked box at stall, promoters, commerce gateway on website, philanthropic trusts.
PROJECT PROMOTION
1. yaytima is compiling a database of promoters, and would like all known contacts to be forwarded to her, as noted in her post.
2. We will get onto banners/ cards, webpage hosting, etc, further down the track.
3. Avant Card were involved in the fairly recent "Speedwise-Speedsafe" campaign, and Finn will research contacts for that. We'll need a graphic designer to do a series of cards with project publicity and harm minimisation content. (Sure there's a few designers around here!
MEDIA REPRESENTATION
1. Once we are ready to go public we will work across radio, street press and internet media with formal promotional press releases. We'd be looking at 2SER, Triple J, K-Grind, Sydney Tribe, Spraci, Chaos Music and In the Mix, among others. milkybar would you be willing to co-ordinate the PR???
Okay, I think that's it. Let me know if I missed anything.
IF YOU CAN PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE WHATSOEVER IN ANY OF THESE AREAS, PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND ADDRESS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF IT. (INDICATED IN ITALICS).
There is a clear momentum and focus developing, and the project is really starting to take shape. Yipeeeee!
Thanks, everybody! xx
bananafish
P.S. j_swift if you see anything listed above that you can do this week, can you email me, as would love your help! Thanks, buddy!
[This message has been edited by bananafish (edited 24 October 2000).]
excellent, excellent minutes bananafish! fifty yays to you. without you and finn i feel this project would be lagging somewhat.
ahh! the enthusia!
i have to admit a lot of this overwhelms me so i'm glad there's people around to get me to shake a leg and guide my blindness. i also feel slack for not doing more.
anyhoo, this is rather a pointless post.....sorry........i'm still waiting to hear on anyone who knows how to get in contact with pro***ers........i've been doing the 3D world thing and cruising around on the internet, but that is rather slow going and often doesn't yeild much information
i'm taking anything here - big or small events, doesn't matter. give me suggestions even that i can chase up. i've got a fair idea of what goes on here in sydney, but when it comes to elsewhere i'm totally clueless. underground/alternative radio (such as 2ser in syd) and street press contacts from other states may also be helpful.
umm.......can anybody update us on what's going on in melbourne?
right! i think it's time for bed.....sweet dreams of successful stalls and happy, informed punters everyone!
ahh! the enthusia!
i have to admit a lot of this overwhelms me so i'm glad there's people around to get me to shake a leg and guide my blindness. i also feel slack for not doing more.
anyhoo, this is rather a pointless post.....sorry........i'm still waiting to hear on anyone who knows how to get in contact with pro***ers........i've been doing the 3D world thing and cruising around on the internet, but that is rather slow going and often doesn't yeild much information
umm.......can anybody update us on what's going on in melbourne?
right! i think it's time for bed.....sweet dreams of successful stalls and happy, informed punters everyone!
bananafish
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2000
- Messages
- 109
yaytima
Aw, shucks! it weren't nuthin'!
But... what the hell! Fifty yays accepted!!
Yeah, look, it IS pretty overwhelming at times, but I think if we just maintain a slow and steady momentum, everything will be okay. (I'm also hoping BLers will read the minutes and offers of help will come rolling in! hint! hint!
)
I see the database as something that will grow and change over time. Ultimately it will be big, electronic, current, and fabulous!
But it's not like we'll be able to take on 300 events before Christmas, anyway, so don't worry if you don't have a huge list just yet!
Great work, already!
Stay cool and keep the faith,
bananafish
Aw, shucks! it weren't nuthin'!
Yeah, look, it IS pretty overwhelming at times, but I think if we just maintain a slow and steady momentum, everything will be okay. (I'm also hoping BLers will read the minutes and offers of help will come rolling in! hint! hint!
I see the database as something that will grow and change over time. Ultimately it will be big, electronic, current, and fabulous!
Stay cool and keep the faith,
bananafish
BigfootDragon
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2000
- Messages
- 302
great work guys
keep it up.
at the moment i have uni finishing and exams coming up. but after that i'll hopefully get to meetings and be involved more.
i'll volunteer to put yaytima's database online though, so anyone can access it. and of course it will be hosted free
looking forward to working with you guys
Bigfoot Dragon
at the moment i have uni finishing and exams coming up. but after that i'll hopefully get to meetings and be involved more.
i'll volunteer to put yaytima's database online though, so anyone can access it. and of course it will be hosted free
looking forward to working with you guys
Bigfoot Dragon
heya bananafish
i can look into the a.)OH&S of hazardous chemicals and hygeine and b.)standardised procedures for testing and reporting.
i'm also going to c.)get in touch with current harm min projects to see how they evaluate their ongoing performance.
i would like to help out with insurance issues for the stallholders and promoters but i must admit that i'm not too experienced in these issues.
i can look into the a.)OH&S of hazardous chemicals and hygeine and b.)standardised procedures for testing and reporting.
i'm also going to c.)get in touch with current harm min projects to see how they evaluate their ongoing performance.
i would like to help out with insurance issues for the stallholders and promoters but i must admit that i'm not too experienced in these issues.
keep it up, keep it up..
um i know these guys who've been throwing DnB nights at 61 regent st. so i'm getting in touch to find out who's in charge over there...
hey BLISSS?? where are you?? i know you have contacts with promoters...
and i thought of something else i can do. i can build the actual stall that we're gonna need.. i've got some expertise in that area.
happy to donate what materials i have and i should b able to pinch some from my school..
umm i'm picturing like a light, easy to dismantle thing. with a flat bench top, the size of a teachers desk (too small?) and some shelves underneath for storage and stuff...
will it need a roof? i thought a tarpaulin may be enough for this..... if it's outside that is....
ne other handyman BL's wanna get in on this with me??
neways.. i'll draw up some plans n stuff. like i can probably pull this off without needing funding if it's kept small and simple. but if we need to go professional and large... i dno.
so when's the next meeting?? i wanna meet you guys....
um i know these guys who've been throwing DnB nights at 61 regent st. so i'm getting in touch to find out who's in charge over there...
hey BLISSS?? where are you?? i know you have contacts with promoters...
and i thought of something else i can do. i can build the actual stall that we're gonna need.. i've got some expertise in that area.
happy to donate what materials i have and i should b able to pinch some from my school..
umm i'm picturing like a light, easy to dismantle thing. with a flat bench top, the size of a teachers desk (too small?) and some shelves underneath for storage and stuff...
will it need a roof? i thought a tarpaulin may be enough for this..... if it's outside that is....
ne other handyman BL's wanna get in on this with me??
neways.. i'll draw up some plans n stuff. like i can probably pull this off without needing funding if it's kept small and simple. but if we need to go professional and large... i dno.
so when's the next meeting?? i wanna meet you guys....
bananafish
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2000
- Messages
- 109
BFD
That would be great! Who knows? Such a database might even encourage the damned pro***ers to get in touch with each other and stop putting all the good events on the same weekend!
j_swift
You are an angel! That would be perfect! Especially (a)and (b). Thanks! And don't worry, some suit is bound to come unwittingly to my door selling insurance some day soon!
fat tony
A bluelight carpenter!!
Great idea!!
Let's get in touch and muck around with designs!!
Er, after your HSC, naturellement!
(Yeah, and can I come over to your place and play on the saws and angle grinder and the welding gear and stuff??!!
I soooooo miss my exbf's shed
, and I wanna make all this stuff for Earthcore!!!
And then your Dad could see I'm totally trustworthy for the gas fridge, too!!
)
excited bananafish!
That would be great! Who knows? Such a database might even encourage the damned pro***ers to get in touch with each other and stop putting all the good events on the same weekend!
j_swift
You are an angel! That would be perfect! Especially (a)and (b). Thanks! And don't worry, some suit is bound to come unwittingly to my door selling insurance some day soon!
fat tony
A bluelight carpenter!!
(Yeah, and can I come over to your place and play on the saws and angle grinder and the welding gear and stuff??!!
excited bananafish!
D
D&AWg
Guest
How impressive is this
You guys are really comprehensive! One thing that ocurred to me is the need to get club owners supporting this project. Some couldn't give a shit, some are only interested in not having police trouble and overdoses on their premises, and some actually are concerned and would be supportive. I think the guidelines for clubs should be promoted heavily. If the clubbing public becomes aware of these guidelines perhaps they will vote with their feet and not support the clubs that breach the guidelines. For example, GAS only has hot water in their taps and their bottled water prices are prohibitive. I wonder how many GAS patrons are even aware that this is not acceptable? I wonder if the GAS management themselves know anything about the guidelines? I'm sure there are many other examples. But once you get one club supporting the project, others will be sure to follow and perhaps there'll be a snowball effect... That's my two-cents worth for tonight
Those of you who want to check out the dance party guidelines d&awg is referring to should just follow the link below....
http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dance.pdf
It's a pdf file so you'll need adobe acrobat to read it. If you don't have this you can download it for free from www.adobe.com
While promoters and venue owners have to comply with these guidelines developed by the government, the most important thing here in terms of what we want to achieve is that they are required to provide harm minimisation information.
Maybe you guys have seen more of this kind of thing than I have at Sydney clubs but the only harm minimisation information I've seen has been the stuff you see on the back of the toilet door or if you're lucky, next to the sink in the girls toilets.
Hmmmmmm, I reckon this is probably our best way in. We of course, would be more than happy to facilitate the dissemination of harm minimisation information (and pill testing) on their behalf!
Finn
http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dance.pdf
It's a pdf file so you'll need adobe acrobat to read it. If you don't have this you can download it for free from www.adobe.com
While promoters and venue owners have to comply with these guidelines developed by the government, the most important thing here in terms of what we want to achieve is that they are required to provide harm minimisation information.
Maybe you guys have seen more of this kind of thing than I have at Sydney clubs but the only harm minimisation information I've seen has been the stuff you see on the back of the toilet door or if you're lucky, next to the sink in the girls toilets.
Hmmmmmm, I reckon this is probably our best way in. We of course, would be more than happy to facilitate the dissemination of harm minimisation information (and pill testing) on their behalf!
Finn