NEWS: [Herald Sun] - 19/07/2005 'Pill poison'

[BigTrancer]

Articles like these continuing to point out the extreme lengths that people will go to while abusing illicit drugs, whilst keeping the issue in the public eye and talking about it, could also serve to help young people disguise their drug use from their parents. If the articles continue to paint EVERY drug user as a 11+tuple drug binger who spends/makes 100k every weekend on drugs, clearly normal social drug use will go WAY under the radar and have no ramifications like those 'ex-drug-abuser' stories they always trot out.

BigTrancer

 

[deeCee]

It does make parents aware of what there child could be doing when they go out. I know this for myself, cause when the barrage of articles came once every 6 months or so, I was questioned about my actions of the weekends.

I know if I was living at home now, I would be questioned again, especially after the "undercover investigation report" that described the goings on, on the inside of PHD. With the description of the "ravers" with flared pants and hoodies etc..

 

[Living_life]

"They stimulate and affect the brain"

No shit sherlock.

There are two really good things though about this article:

- It underpins the unreliability of ecstacy at the moment.
- Shows that there should be more consideration and tolerance towards pill testing.

Also though, wtf is with the mention of ghb = irrelevant. Also! Ketamine is used for human surgery aswell as animal suergery. For fucks sake, caffeine is probably used on animals aswell and it isn't "horse stimulant". Having said that, yes ketamine is much more serious than caffeine yet it is still an extremely reliable anaesthetic and there is literally no chance of someone ODing on it in a pill. HAVING SAID THAT, ketamine should not be in pills anyway.

Nah seriously this is a good analysis of the situation and current users should take it into consideration.

Peace,

 

[hoptis]

Right... the Herald Sun-week-of-shite-ass-reporting-on-drugs continues.

In today's episode we look at the new breed of drug dealer and announce to the world the stunning news that young people are USING ECSTACY!.

FFS, if I have to continue reading this crap all week, I'd better be getting a free pill with my Sunday paper.

The invisible pill dealers
John Ferguson and Michael Warner
20 Jul 2005

Insight report:
A NEW breed of drug pusher has emerged, forcing police to rewrite the stereotype of who deals and why.

Senior police believe the explosion in the ecstasy market has created an unpredictable new style of dealer who is young, may well be studying and have no previous links to criminal networks.

It was no longer safe to assume children from happy, stable households were not using or dealing the drug, police said.

Det-Supt Tony Biggin, of the Major Drug Investigation Division, said mid-range dealers of ecstasy were often younger.

"They're not kids who have been in trouble," he said. "And all of a sudden they've gone from being someone who's had a supply . . . and started to give to their mates and start(ed) to sell to their mates," he said.

"And all of a sudden overnight they've burgeoned from selling 50 pills in a weekend to selling a thousand or selling 2000 or 3000 or 5000."

Det-Supt Biggin said a dealer on the upper end of the scale could be grossing $100,000 a weekend.

He said police were constantly surprised by the backgrounds of some dealers.

"They're still criminals . . . they're not your down and out traditional heroin junkie, the traditional drug picture," Det-Supt Biggin said.

"These are kids going to uni and school, they have well-paying jobs, they potentially do things that we all do during the day."

Detectives have netted hundreds of high-level traffickers in recent years, many of whom have fallen into the young category.

An entire unit in the drug squad is now devoted to the ecstasy market, taking over from past work carried out during the heroin crisis.

Detectives have arrested more than 460 people for high-level trafficking in the past two financial years. Of those, about a third involved amphetamines and other so-called synthetic drugs such as ecstasy.

Ecstasy is selling for about $20 on the wholesale market, with dealers adding a further $5 to $20 to the "retail" price in nightclubs and pubs.

In 2002, the wholesale price was $32 for 1000 pills.

Police also believe that the extent of ecstasy use is state-wide. Several investigations have been in rural and regional areas, including Horsham, Mildura and Geelong.

Police believe one of the key reasons more younger people are becoming involved in serious drug dealing is because they blend in better in nightclubs and raves.

Det-Insp Robert Hill, of the Major Drug Investigation Division, said ecstasy use was rampant.

"I wouldn't think there would be too many nightclubs across Victoria -- hotels across Victoria -- that there wouldn't be someone who could possibly access this type of drug," he said.

Underpinning the youth culture that is driving the dealing and consumption of ecstasy is a growing trend towards spreading information via the internet.

From Herald Sun

Hotels to get advice
20 Jul 2005

POLICE have launched an ecstasy awareness blitz in hotels across Victoria.

Liquor industry groups are being told of the dangers of the drug, how to recognise problems with patrons and how to protect their health.

Working with a prominent advertising agency, the liquor industry is being alerted to the extent of ecstasy use.

Major Drug Investigation Division Det-Insp Robert Hill said the message was being well-received.

"We're targetting particular areas where we are talking to liquor industry groups who have been quite supportive of the quest of raising awareness of the dangers of ecstasy," he said.

Police have been operating in the CBD, Prahran, Frankston, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

Conveniencing Advertising managing director David Stanley said it was important to send the right messages.

Mr Stanley said people who didn't use the drug needed to know potential harms, while users should know of the risks of dangerous behaviour such as taking multiple pills.

~ John Ferguson

From Herald Sun

Lollipops reveal the pill-popper
20 Jul 2005

Herald Sun reporter MARY BOLLING spent a weekend investigating Melbourne's club, pub and bar scene. This is what she saw.

IT is 11pm on Friday and a crowd lines up outside a St Kilda Rd nightclub. Inside the club, groups of patrons dance and suck frantically on lollipops.

This helps limit the ecstasy-induced tendency to grind teeth or bite the insides of their cheeks.

A few patrons openly say they had already bought their drugs before arriving.

Five girls who bounce out of a single disabled toilet together show signs they have taken illicit substances.

Over on Chapel St, an older crowd is taking in a band in the front bar of one of many venues that line the strip. The smell of marijuana wafts around the back couches.

My mates move on to the dance floor. The more enthusiastically they danced the more likely they were to be to asked if they were dealing.

They weren't, but that didn't stop them being asked four times in 20 minutes if they had any ecstasy to sell.

Just as no one seems backward about asking strangers for drugs, there's not much inclination to hide taking them.

On Saturday night, a group of six men are sitting around the table of a city bar. They each take a pill.

It's about 11pm -- 24 hours after we started our tour -- and there are about 100 people at the venue. One guy says he's not worried about carrying the drugs contained in a small plastic bag.

But a "better option" was to use the box from a particular brand of mints.

He takes off the lid and the box has a mirrored bottom, which makes cutting easier, he explains.

Depending on the strength of the pill, people may take one in a night, or up to three or four.

A single pill costs $20 to $40 and most people know someone who is dealing, or know someone who knows someone.

In one of the CBD's many lounges that line streets and lanes, there is free entry after midnight.

It is crowded and groups of people are dancing, hugging and screaming over the DJ.

Patrons happily volunteer the fact that they've popped pills, and at the bar, asking what drug you are on is a pick-up line.

The chances of worse side-effects than ground-down teeth were rated as "pretty unlikely", they reasoned. The chances of getting caught were not even a consideration.

Taking ecstasy was an occasional habit for some, but others said they went out and took pills a few times a week.

Some users claim they know how to stay safe. But they are ignoring the risks, and no one can say they know where the pills are made. Nonetheless, taking ecstasy is as safe as drinking, I was told repeatedly.

Not that anyone stopped drinking. At another venue -- open until 7am on Little Collins St -- the crowd was permanently three deep at the bar after 2am. But no one was wearing out.

DJs on two floors of the venue had people dancing in a thick mass to everything from Kiss to Kylie.

About 4am, an old mate bowled up to me, tripping over a couch in his enthusiasm.

He and a friend were over-supplied with pills for the night and wanted to offload the rest of their supply because they were running out of beer money.

While it might be more difficult to get, ecstasy seems interchangeable with alcohol for many.

Use of the drug has expanded outside the dance music scene where it started. And in spite of continuing warnings, it's a risk that Melbourne's young people still don't think twice about taking.

From Herald Sun

 

[endlesseulogy]

I want to know what the Herald Sun is getting at by posting two drug related headlines in a row

 

[ANDO420]

This is going from bad to worse!!!

 

[kandyraverchick]

"And all of a sudden overnight they've burgeoned from selling 50 pills in a weekend to selling a thousand or selling 2000 or 3000 or 5000."

lol, we just forgot to mention this isn't a regular occurance, nor would most ecstasy users know where to get their hands on such quantities every weekend!

"Police believe one of the key reasons more younger people are becoming involved in serious drug dealing is because they blend in better in nightclubs and raves."

Yep, it's all about fitting in! 8( Fantastic theory!

"Patrons happily volunteer the fact that they've popped pills, and at the bar, asking what drug you are on is a pick-up line."

rofl... ok, obviously this journalist has never taken a pill!

"Some users claim they know how to stay safe. But they are ignoring the risks, and no one can say they know where the pills are made."

Because OF COURSE anyone who knew that kind of info, would tell the press... 8)

 

[drplatypus]

Maybe they're laying the groundwork for a Victorian anti-pill testing campaign, or sounding out the ground for one...

 

[sux to be u]

It was no longer safe to assume children from happy, stable households were not using or dealing the drug, police said.

I think that went out the door some odd 40-50 years ago

 

[eggman]

"And all of a sudden overnight they've burgeoned from selling 50 pills in a weekend to selling a thousand or selling 2000 or 3000 or 5000."

I am starting to assume that with quotes like the one above, the Victorian police are starting to lay some media/PR hype to support heavy penalties for people carrying small quantities, hence justification for ruining the lives of these "...kids going to uni and school, they have well-paying jobs, they potentially do things that we all do during the day."

I can see the cops on the 6pm news now...

"...Yeah sure he only had 3 pill on him, but in a months time he was going to be carrying 1,000 to sell and then a month after that 5,000. So we are lucky to have captured him now."

War on drugs by stealth???

 

[chugs]

although bluelighters have a tendency to nitpick I couldn't leave this paragraph alone

Liquor industry groups are being told of the dangers of the drug, how to recognise problems with patrons and how to protect their health.

Telling legal drug dealers, who serve a drug associated with massive social & health problems how to recongise problems with patrons who have taken ecstasy, a drug which despite it's prevalence has a fraction of the abuse and health potential of alcohol only illustrates the apparent madness of our authorities.

Although I can appreciate hypocrisy and contradictions this one seems to be mind boggling. How the hell can a newspaper spew out such specious logic?

 

[Tronica]

NEWS: the invisible pill dealers

More Herald Sun stuff!

Herald Sun, 20 July 2005, journalist John Ferguson and Michael Warner

The invisible pill dealers

A new breed of drug pusher has emerged, forcing police to rewrite the stereotype of who deals and why. Senior police believe the explosion in the ecstasy market has created an unpredictable new style of dealer who is young, may well be studying and have no previous links to criminal networks. It was no longer safe to assume children from happy, stable households were not using or dealing the drug, police said.

Det-Supt Tony Biggin, of the Major Drug Investigation Division, said mid-range dealers of ecstasy were often younger. "They're not kids who have been in trouble," he said. "And all of a sudden they've gone from being someone who's had a supply . . . and started to give to their mates and start(ed) to sell to their mates," he said. "And all of a sudden overnight they've burgeoned from selling 50 pills in a weekend to selling a thousand or selling 2000 or 3000 or 5000." Det-Supt Biggin said a dealer on the upper end of the scale could be grossing $100,000 a weekend.

He said police were constantly surprised by the backgrounds of some dealers. "They're still criminals . . . they're not your down and out traditional heroin junkie, the traditional drug picture," Det-Supt Biggin said. "These are kids going to uni and school, they have well-paying jobs, they potentially do things that we all do during the day."

Detectives have netted hundreds of high-level traffickers in recent years, many of whom have fallen into the young category. An entire unit in the drug squad is now devoted to the ecstasy market, taking over from past work carried out during the heroin crisis. Detectives have arrested more than 460 people for high-level trafficking in the past two financial years. Of those, about a third involved amphetamines and other so-called synthetic drugs such as ecstasy.

Ecstasy is selling for about $20 on the wholesale market, with dealers adding a further $5 to $20 to the "retail" price in nightclubs and pubs. In 2002, the wholesale price was $32 for 1000 pills.

Police also believe that the extent of ecstasy use is state-wide. Several investigations have been in rural and regional areas, including Horsham, Mildura and Geelong.

Police believe one of the key reasons more younger people are becoming involved in serious drug dealing is because they blend in better in nightclubs and raves.

Det-Insp Robert Hill, of the Major Drug Investigation Division, said ecstasy use was rampant. "I wouldn't think there would be too many nightclubs across Victoria -- hotels across Victoria -- that there wouldn't be someone who could possibly access this type of drug," he said. Underpinning the youth culture that is driving the dealing and consumption of ecstasy is a growing trend towards spreading information via the internet.

Link to story: http://heraldsun.news.com.au/printpage/0,5481,15985611,00.html

 

[potato]

Underpinning the youth culture that is driving the dealing and consumption of ecstasy is a growing trend towards spreading information via the internet.

If they keep up this media frenzy, expect to see bluelight in the news in the not too distant future.

 

[hhc_king]

yeah i don't like the look of that


but we can let johnboy take care of that one mr potato

 

[Cowboy Mac]

some discussion following hoptis's post of the same article here.

 

[hhc_king]

cheers cbm

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

Re: NEWS: the invisible pill dealers

[IHe said police were constantly surprised by the backgrounds of some dealers. "They're still criminals . . . they're not your down and out traditional heroin junkie, the traditional drug picture," Det-Supt Biggin said. "These are kids going to uni and school, they have well-paying jobs, they potentially do things that we all do during the day."

Oh my lord what a shock! You mean there's dealers out there who aren't heroin junkies? They've never considered it's more LIKELY dealers are normal/professional people with the means, funds and social connections to support such an endeavour? Three cheers for Captain Obvious :D

Edit: or should that be, Det-Supt Obvious.

 

[sux to be u]

Re: NEWS: the invisible pill dealers

More Herald Sun stuff!



He said police were constantly surprised by the backgrounds of some dealers. "They're still criminals . . . they're not your down and out traditional heroin junkie, the traditional drug picture," Det-Supt Biggin said. "These are kids going to uni and school, they have well-paying jobs, they potentially do things that we all do during the day."

Yeah like taking and dealing drugs?? (because these kids are going to uni/school and have well paying jobs!) Poorly worded sentance there from the Det-Supt

 

[Pleonastic]

It's sad indication that we have so far still to go, when an entire article is dedicated to something which should be logically obvious. No shit that a lot of dealers are young and successful, and aren't strung out junkies. Well figured out. 8)

 

[ayjay]

This article shat me greatly - even when they presented factual information, they did so in a way that inverted or severely distorted the meaning.

For example - 89 CKs tested, maximum MDMA 53 %, median MDMA 48%. That means that half the pills were 48% MDMA or better!!! The way the article reads, you'd think that all but 18 were complete shit..

Second shitty bit: morphine reported as adulterant. Now, I'm not going to contradict Cate Quinn's fine work over at VicPol forensics, but the last thing we need is anything that will add fuel to the myth that pills are cut with heroin. How often do pills tested have morphine as an ingredient? Not often I bet.

Lastly - it's lovely to use forensic lab results - but it ignores the sample bias present in police seizures. Police are well aware of existing criminal networks around drugs like heroin and speed - but ecstasy is a completely different ball game. They are more likely to seize ecstasy from people already involved in criminal drug networks - hence already in police radar. I would suggest that historically, such people are more likely to have shitty ecstasy too - leading to a falsely lower average purity figure.

HVIII