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http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10372907%255E661,00.html
Sunday Herald Sun, 8 August 2004, journalists Carly Crawford And Kelvin Healey
A Sunday Herald Sun investigation found traces of cocaine in five of eight clubs visited in the city and Chapel St, Prahran, this week. The finding comes as high volumes of the drug flow into Australia. Australian Federal Police seizures of cocaine almost doubled last year, with 120kg seized from 703 stashes.
A Melbourne paramedic said the drug was most popular among the wealthy. "If you're going to find it, it will be in a club's VIP room or a private function," he said. "In Victoria, coke is usually used in combination with other drugs."
Using a Drugscreen test kit, the Sunday Herald Sun took samples inside nightclub toilet blocks from the tops of seats, benches and other flat surfaces. The samples, taken on adhesive paper supplied with the kit, were then sprayed with a reagent that indicated the probable presence of cocaine.
At one Chapel St club, each toilet cubicle had a stainless steel shelf at chest height. White powder was clearly visible in one cubicle. Another club provided a large bench top in one cubicle in the male and female toilets.
Victoria Police drug policy unit manager Inspector Steve James said the result was surprising and cause for concern. "Polydrug (multi-drug) use is a major concern, whether from the health perspective or the other dangers, such as driving while drug affected," he said. Insp James said police had not noticed any increase of the drug on the streets, but cocaine use was not easy to detect.
Anti-drugs crusader Les Twentyman said cocaine was becoming increasingly popular in Melbourne, and he blamed the show business industry for glamourising the killer substance. "It is portrayed as a fun thing to do and people have this false thinking that it is harmless," he said. "It is a huge problem."
Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre is starting an extensive inquiry into cocaine use in Melbourne. It will follow studies in Britain and the US that found cocaine was overtaking ecstasy as the social drug of choice. Turning Point researcher Jenn Johnston said the eight-month study would follow earlier research by the centre that had found 80 per cent of regular ecstasy users in Melbourne also used cocaine. She said the initial research had found the purity of cocaine on Melbourne streets was usually "high" and the drug was easy to buy.
The Australian Illicit Drug Data report for 2002-03 said the quality of cocaine being imported had been slipping since 1998. The previous year's report said cashed-up cocaine users rarely attracted police attention and little was known about usage by them.
Sunday Herald Sun, 8 August 2004, journalists Carly Crawford And Kelvin Healey
A Sunday Herald Sun investigation found traces of cocaine in five of eight clubs visited in the city and Chapel St, Prahran, this week. The finding comes as high volumes of the drug flow into Australia. Australian Federal Police seizures of cocaine almost doubled last year, with 120kg seized from 703 stashes.
A Melbourne paramedic said the drug was most popular among the wealthy. "If you're going to find it, it will be in a club's VIP room or a private function," he said. "In Victoria, coke is usually used in combination with other drugs."
Using a Drugscreen test kit, the Sunday Herald Sun took samples inside nightclub toilet blocks from the tops of seats, benches and other flat surfaces. The samples, taken on adhesive paper supplied with the kit, were then sprayed with a reagent that indicated the probable presence of cocaine.
At one Chapel St club, each toilet cubicle had a stainless steel shelf at chest height. White powder was clearly visible in one cubicle. Another club provided a large bench top in one cubicle in the male and female toilets.
Victoria Police drug policy unit manager Inspector Steve James said the result was surprising and cause for concern. "Polydrug (multi-drug) use is a major concern, whether from the health perspective or the other dangers, such as driving while drug affected," he said. Insp James said police had not noticed any increase of the drug on the streets, but cocaine use was not easy to detect.
Anti-drugs crusader Les Twentyman said cocaine was becoming increasingly popular in Melbourne, and he blamed the show business industry for glamourising the killer substance. "It is portrayed as a fun thing to do and people have this false thinking that it is harmless," he said. "It is a huge problem."
Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre is starting an extensive inquiry into cocaine use in Melbourne. It will follow studies in Britain and the US that found cocaine was overtaking ecstasy as the social drug of choice. Turning Point researcher Jenn Johnston said the eight-month study would follow earlier research by the centre that had found 80 per cent of regular ecstasy users in Melbourne also used cocaine. She said the initial research had found the purity of cocaine on Melbourne streets was usually "high" and the drug was easy to buy.
The Australian Illicit Drug Data report for 2002-03 said the quality of cocaine being imported had been slipping since 1998. The previous year's report said cashed-up cocaine users rarely attracted police attention and little was known about usage by them.
