NEWS: Drugs @ Schoolies 2006

[Portillo]

Exploiting parents fears is what these articles do. Talk about painful generation gaps.

 

[zaineaol.nu]

"We were just sitting down and this guy shook this other guy's hand and I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw this bag of all this white stuff" lol...

my fucking god.. oh, i love this one, "People even offered me acid last night, that's how bad it is.".

Firstly, i'd like to point out that if the worst you believe it gets is acid, kids you have another thing coming.. .one guy offered him acid, so what.

But the umpteen people who probably offered him ice, that wasnt the big news was it, the big harmful craze. but no one guy offers him acid, and that stuff makes you think you're an orange for the rest of your life right?

I think further education as per the REAL effects of these drugs needs to be put in place at schools, the "drugs are bad' approach is causing ignorance - coz these kids will probably do ice soon enough, but are so scared of acid coz of the story they were told about some guy named derek who was a friend of a friend in the 70's who thinks he's a citrus fruit now. Did they never see the crazy guy in real life who ran up to them screaming that the bush ninjas were after him and the snipers that were outside his window? I bet they did, but brushed him off as just crazy - never even thinking that ICE did that... fuck i hate meth. But also, i do dislike acid, but i tried it more than enough times to know i wont think im an orange.

 

[hoptis]

Gold Coast

"There were two schoolies arrested for drug offences overnight with one arrested for possession of three ecstasy tablets and another arrested for cannabis and a drug utensil," he said.

News.com.au

 

[hoptis]

Schoolies soured by illicit drug use
November 26, 2006 12:00am
Article from: The Sunday Times

ROTTNEST Island school leavers' celebrations have been soured by a large increase in illegal drug use.

Police said there were noticeably more drugs on the island, particularly cannabis and ecstasy, than in previous years.

By Friday night, more than 30 people had been charged or summonsed to appear in court on drugs charges.

The police haul included ecstasy tablets, powdered amphetamines, bongs and bags of cannabis.

Sen-Constable Mick Sears said: "There is an illusion and perception out there by most parents that cannabis is a soft drug.

"They need to realise that most of it is hydroponically grown by organised crime and it is mixed with other substances."

Police seized other amounts of cannabis in Perth earlier this week that were allegedly destined to be peddled to schoolies.

Sgt Paul van Noort said illegal drugs combined with large quantities of alcohol were contributing to a

noticeably more aggressive mood among leavers.

"There just seems to be a lot more attitude among the leavers this year," he said.

"They seem to be hitting the alcohol a lot harder. "We have got no doubt the drugs are out there and that certainly doesn't help the situation."

On Tuesday police seized cannabis in a car in Subiaco, which they believed was to be sold to schoolies.

The 19-year-old owner of the car ran when police approached him, but was arrested on the island.

He was charged with possessing cannabis with intent to sell or supply and escaping legal custody.

Another youth was arrested on the wharf at Rottnest on Friday evening after boasting in the ferry queue that he was carrying amphetamines.

He was expected to be charged.

A teenager who attended leavers' week in 2005 said drugs were hardly seen last year, but were widely available this time.

Sgt van Noort said several other leavers would be charged after being caught with ecstasy.

Drug sniffer dogs were used in searches of units at Geordie Bay yesterday and more charges were expected.

Leavers arriving yesterday were warned the crackdown would continue.

More than 45 people had been evicted from the island since Wednesday, most for disorderly conduct.

Officers are also investigating the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl who was dragged into bushes in a well-lit area near the Geordie Bay bus stop about 10pm on Friday.

She managed to fight her attacker, who is thought to be in his late teens, and alerted police.

The sex attack followed an indecent assault of a teenage girl the previous night, which police say was carried out by another person.

Five 17-year-olds were charged with burglary and damage offences over the trashing of a unit in Geordie Bay on Thursday.

They were kicked off the island on Friday.

Island police issued 19 liquor infringements and 11 for disorderly behaviour on the same night.

Sunday Times / News.com.au

 

[hoptis]

Schoolies' dangerous drinking
Matt Cunningham
November 27, 2006 12:00am

BINGE-drinking schoolies are taking big risks and could be doing permanent damage to their bodies, experts say.

Alcohol is clearly the drug of choice among school leavers celebrating on the Gold Coast, with almost a quarter drinking to the point where they are physically sick.

More than 85 per cent of schoolies surveyed by drug education centre DRUG ARM said they had consumed alcohol within the past 24 hours.

The centre found 23 per cent of schoolies had vomited because of drinking and 20 per cent had passed out.

The Herald Sun saw one schoolie lying passed out in a pool of his own vomit this week.

Many others have had to be treated by paramedics or have been arrested by police for public drunkenness.

DRUG ARM director Caroline Salom said drinking too much alcohol often led to schoolies making poor choices.

"If they are drunk they are far more likely to say they will give it a go if someone offers them an ecstasy tablet, or to have unplanned or unprotected sex, or to start a fight," she said.

Many schoolies who spoke to the Herald Sun said they were drinking more than 20 standard alcoholic drinks a day.

Schoolie Darren Pepper, 17, said he and his friend Aaron Reid, 18, were sharing a carton of beer (24 cans) each day before having another four or five mixed spirit drinks.

"We usually start on the beers and then hook into the Jimmys (Jim Beam bourbon and coke) later on," Darren said.

Ms Salom said that schoolies who drank to the point of vomiting were doing damage to their stomachs and throats, as well as damaging their brain cells.

But she said the most immediate risk was caused by their actions when drunk.

"Because they are young and inexperienced with alcohol they are completely irrational about what they should and shouldn't be doing," she said.

Police are cracking down on drug use in the schoolies precinct with several arrests made over the weekend.

Police arrested one schoolie early yesterday who was in possession of three ecstasy tablets, while another was arrested for possessing cannabis.

Two "toolies" were also arrested for possessing ecstasy and cannabis.

Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

Schoolies faces reform
Michael Wray and Andrew Potts
December 13, 2006 11:00pm

THEY have fought schoolies drinking alcohol on the beaches and the roads and in nightclubs – and now authorities will fight them in apartments.

In response to the surge of highly intoxicated schoolies reported at this year's event, politicians, police, emergency services officers and welfare groups met yesterday to design a response to "secondary supply": parents providing their underage children with enough drink to keep them content during Schoolies – and restocking if supplies ran out.

Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech said parents dropped off "boot loads" of alcohol for their children at Schoolies before saying "bye bye, have a good weekend".

"What the forum is concerned about is the large amount of alc- ohol that parents are giving their children when they drop them off – and in particular, the topping up of alcohol through the week really is of great concern," Ms Keech said.

Paradoxically, regulation of under-age drinking in licensed venues and in public has led to parents becoming the largest – or only – suppliers to youngsters.

Many forum members recalled sending their own children to Schoolies. Yesterday they tackled the far wider issue of stemming alcohol abuse among at least 30,000 school leavers.

Responses included providing more organised activities; scare campaigns similar to the 1987 "Grim Reaper" AIDS television commercials; bringing parents to Schoolies to see youngsters' behaviour at first hand; and banning parents from supplying alcohol to schoolies in their apartments.

Despite accepting all suggestions, Ms Keech effectively ruled out a heavy-handed approach, saying draconian legislation would be "simplistic", expensive and impractical – and might push schoolies towards alternatives such as illegal drugs.

"It's like saying you're going to ban drinking at New Year's Eve," Ms Keech said.

Queensland Liquor Licensing executive director Chris Watters said schoolies grew up in a "culture" of binge drinking and arrived on the Gold Coast expecting to drink a mixture of alcoholic drinks rapidly, with the sole aim of "mucking up".

"People are drinking with the intention of getting drunk," Mr Watters said.

Ms Keech did not formulate a firm next step, but said she would take the proposals, including the most common – education campaigns separately targeting parents and schoolies – to a full Schoolies wrap-up early next year.

Courier-Mail