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NEWS: Herald Sun - Party Drug Puts 10 in Hospital - 08/03/04

Re: GHB

Originally posted by Mick Bunworth
I'm a Melbourne-based reporter with the ABC's 7.30 Report who's working on a story about GBH. I'm not out to exaggerate or sensationalise its use in the dance community, but from my reading of dance music forums like this one many people agree that it's bad stuff...

Mick, let me take the time to thank you for doing some research first. Websites such as Bluelight know that people are going to experiment with drugs, and are here to help inform people about harm reduction.

I personally have never had a problem with taking GHB, and have taken it about 3 times a month for over a year. It's all about the right education, which in general, the media is not interested in. I hope your report is based upon factual information and not just scaremongering (media) hype.

By the way, PLEASE don't call it GBH (or Grievous Bodily Harm), it is GHB.

[Edit] - 3 times a month (not a week)
Thanks you.
 
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hmm.......G is not a drug for dance parties. The dudes selling this shit at raves should be punched in the head.

If your gona use G you should do it after the party at home, with friends and monitor everyones doses. If you don't know every thing you can know about the drug your taking, don't take it.
 
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Well done Johnboy on a top interview. It's rare to find people talking about drugs in the media in a non-biased and realistic fashion. The harm minimisation message was clear and concise.
 
I did happen to walk past one person who I think was over dosing at the time, however I was too chopped to be sure, plus his friends were taking care of him. Also I know of another person who had to be revived several times after being admitted to hospital from a G over dose.
While this is sad, unfortunately is about the only thing in the world that makes people realise that G is not a toy. You can tell people all you want to be careful with it, but hereos will be hereos. But once someone dies from one dose too much, or from combining it with 'only a little bit' of alcohol, it makes people respect it more. But it's unfortune that it has to get to that point before people respect it.

It's also interesting to note that the police are starting to crack down on G dealing a lot more these days now that it's starting to become a social burden. Friends have seen people being arrested for dealing G by undercover cops dressed in phat pants and khandi at clubs. So looks like the death of G is upon us.
 
*Applause*
Heard Johnboy on JJJ, Thought he did a great job!
 
as if police cracking down on GHB is really going to affect anything =/ i mean, they've cracked down on e haven't they? and how hard is it to find a pill? 0 tolerance isn't the answer i don't think.. they can't remove G from the market.. where there is demand... there is supply.
 
From The Age:

Police to monitor dance scene after overdoses
By Bridie Smith, Jamie Berry
March 10, 2004


Police will monitor the rave and dance scene after nearly a dozen people overdosed on the party drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, at a dance party on Monday.

Police would meet the organisers and promoters of dance events today to work out the best way to minimise the risk to patrons, a police spokeswoman said. Representatives of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service and Melbourne Park are also expected to attend.

The ambulance service said 11 people were taken to hospital after overdosing on GHB at the Two Tribes dance party at Rod Laver Arena, but organisers said the number was closer to five. Today's meeting comes as Future Entertainment and Hardware Corporation, which staged Two Tribes, were criticised for not allowing harm-minimisation and support group RaveSafe to attend the annual event, which attracted 15,000 people.

Natalie Russell, of RaveSafe, confirmed the group approached Future Entertainment offering six trained advisers. Ms Russell said it was unusual for the offer to be rejected, particularly as RaveSafe was a free service funded by the Department of Human Services.

Future Entertainment director Jason Ayoubi said the company declined RaveSafe's services, instead opting for private company Medevent at a cost of thousands of dollars.

"What has happened in the past when they (RaveSafe) have been in attendance is they have caused confusion. They have actually put people's health at risk by trying to deal with medical emergencies by themselves rather than going to the medical staff that we have on site."

Mr Ayoubi said Medevent provided a team of 16 emergency doctors and nurses. Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association executive officer Carol Bennett said the decision to provide first aid but not harm minimisation was irresponsible. RaveSafe staff are trained to give first aid, but RaveSafe says this is not their main role.
Click to expand...

At least they get the name of the drug right. Was it 5 or 10 people?
 
I'll bet my left arse-cheeck that there was no GHB involved in any of these "overdoses", afaik real GHB has been virtually unattainable in Melbourne for at least 18 months and all that is available is 1,4,B, an inferior and more toxic product imo.
 
killarava2day said:
I'll bet my left arse-cheeck that there was no GHB involved in any of these "overdoses", afaik real GHB has been virtually unattainable in Melbourne for at least 18 months and all that is available is 1,4,B, an inferior and more toxic product imo.
Click to expand...

Agreed on everything except for the "more toxic" part.
Liquified GHB and 1,4b are just as dangerous/toxic as each other.
 
Jubas said:
as if police cracking down on GHB is really going to affect anything =/ i mean, they've cracked down on e haven't they? and how hard is it to find a pill? 0 tolerance isn't the answer i don't think.. they can't remove G from the market.. where there is demand... there is supply.
Click to expand...

When was the last time in Melb you saw undercover cops arresting pill dealers in clubs? I dare say the plan is to not remove G from the market, but get it back to a tolerable level, where educated people are using it safely.

And it annoys me that they call it GBH, soon they will call it MADM because it makes you go mad!
 
i haven't seen any melb cops :) i'm a nsw peep!
my point is that the crackdown on pills is pretty light.. as far as i'm aware.. there are busts, true.. but at the user level, the access to ecstacy is pretty easy. if they crack down on G, i'm not sure if the situation wouldn't parallel their crackdown on pills...
 
Ok I realise there are responsible users but most are not. To take e responsibly you take a pill once a month or so definitly not on a weekly basis.

How often are people using considering this shit is so cheap.

I also think MOTOMAN has a very valid point, this is not a drug for dance parties!
 
FROM HARDWARES WEBSITE......

Very interesting stuff....the press should really do their bloody research.


taken from - http://www.hardwarecorp.com.au/Intro.html

Future Entertainment and Hardware Corporation, producers of last Sunday’s Two Tribes festival at Melbourne Park, have issued this release to correct a number of inaccuracies reported in the media following certain incidents at the event.

The Two Tribes event was a music festival featuring over 20 internationally acclaimed artists. Two Tribes attracted over 15,000 patrons, with entrance limited to adults over the age of 18 who purchased tickets priced from $65 plus ticketing charges.

We, as event organisers, have run over 10 events of this nature at Melbourne Park. We have also held concerns about young people taking drugs such as GBH for some time. To that end we, as producers of these events, have several key operational plans in place which include:


Having signage at all entrances indicating that drugs are prohibited from being brought into the venue
Patron searches at venue entrances
Having qualified personnel on site warning of the dangers of taking drugs


In addition, and contrary to certain reports, a full medical team was in attendance as part of the event’s medical safety plan. This incorporated Medevent (a recognized major event medical facility) being on-site with 16 emergency room doctors and nurses.

The Medevent team set up two mini-emergency rooms at our events to give patrons in need of help the best possible treatment prior to being transported to hospital if required.

The average response time with Medevent is just two minutes as there are several roving teams stationed around the venue in radio contact with security staff who have been briefed on procedure should a medical situation arise.

This system ensures patrons that require medical assistance are being assessed and treated by on-site doctors, not merely first aid staff.

Following consultation with Medevent, we can confirm that there were eight transportations from our Two Tribes event, of which only five were for GBH substance abuse, rather than the 11 reported in the media. (The remainder made up of a dislocated shoulder and two non-substance related seizures.)

Medevent also informed us that all patrons that required transportation have now been released from hospital. We are grateful for the exemplary work Medevent do at these events and are sure there is no better care we can provide for our patrons.

As far as the Ravesafe organisation is concerned, they have not been asked to attend Two Tribes events as their attendance can sometimes confuse the communication channels in case of emergency. They are not qualified to treat people where as the Medevent team are.

As far as GBH is concerned, as event organisers we are alarmed by an apparent general proliferation of this substance, and acknowledge the damaging effects that it is having on those people that choose to take it.

Essentially it is a commercial grade cleaner that renders victims unable to breathe without the help of a respirator. Without immediate qualified medical attention the effects of taking this substance can be, and normally are, disastrous.

We call on all people that are considering the use of GBH not to involve themselves with this substance. The consequences of it well outweigh any perceived benefits.

There is an average of 12 cases of this type of overdose hitting hospital emergency rooms per weekend in both Melbourne and Sydney. To this end, we call on governments to increase spending on drug awareness strategies and to cease simplifying the debate by singling out scapegoats. It is a sensitive community issue that needs to be addressed.

As major players in the youth market we are indeed prepared to sit in consultation with the government in regards to this issue. We are sure our experience could and should be a resource utilised in combating a serious problem.
 
Should there be a current warning, is there a bad batch, or is this just a regular thing that happens on a weekly basis.

This is a real bad thing to start happening at parties, I ask people to party safe and have fun (and that doesn't mean going the hardest)

Lets pick up the vibe and start smiling and talking to everyone and anyone again, it's suppose to be the friendliest place in the world lets keep it that way.
 
Originally posted by doofhard
Should there be a current warning, is there a bad batch, or is this just a regular thing that happens on a weekly basis.

When the media refer to a substance overdose as a bad batch of a particular drug, more often than not it is an uneducated user who has brought harm onto themselves. I highly doubt it was a 'bad batch' but it simply highlights what happens when a drug with a very fine margin for error is adopted by the mainstream public. I feel the only way to reduce the overdoses is to increase the education level about the substance, and promoters need to start adopting some of these initiatives.
 
Does anyone know about the medevent team and what they do? Do they offer information about harm reduction or are they simply doctors there to help people if they fuck up?
 
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