Dodgy drugs kill 17 year old girl in Glasgow last night

[Deleted]

Christ. Just AWFUL.

I know The Arches very well, hosts some of the best club and theatre nights in Glasgow.
Mr R works there often, as do other friends in event management. Ms Rolo was there last Wednesday at the student club night.

There are paramedics on duty every night, and a well-equipped first aid room, unlike any other club I'm aware of.
This girl will have been taken best care of, but apparently the damage had been done already.

They battle constantly against fake ID's getting through the doors: I've seen many over the years and they can be highly convincing. They do bag searches on the in for any contraband-- whether alcohol, pills, whatever-- and anyone who's deemed 'out-of-it' isn't allowed in.

Short of full body searches, I just don't know what else a club can do.

At TITP we have drug amnesty bins on the way in, a full field hospital staffed by A&E docs and nurses, and we flash up messages on the screens constantly about any alerts we have on dodgy drug batches. Our undercover and CCTV have caught several dealers on site, all of whom prosecuted. Fortunately the vast majority of casualties tend to be the overly-refreshed and those with asthsma or other medical conditions.

But none of this can protect against kids who think they're invincible and it won't happen to them. Sure the chances are minimal but yet, this wee girl died last night and my heart goes out to her family and friends.

[bormes]

Well said Rolo, although perhaps she took a reaction to whatever drug she took?
I would suggest that the "Doormen" do most of the drug dealing in most if not all of the clubs in most towns, certainly Glasgow and the reason other dealers are thrown out or prosecuted is because they are infringing in the territory of the club they have moved into without permission. Like most towns the world over.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2014 22:09:46 GMT -1 bormes said:

Well said Rolo, although perhaps she took a reaction to whatever drug she took?
I would suggest that the "Doormen" do most of the drug dealing in most if not all of the clubs in most towns, certainly Glasgow and the reason other dealers are thrown out or prosecuted is because they are infringing in the territory of the club they have moved into without permission. Like most towns the world over.

Tis possible, sure, Bormes. 7 other kids are in hospital having taking the same batch of drug, apparently. Seems unilkely just 8 contaminated tablets, given the fucking bastard dealers that cut the stuff with crap at a fiver a pop.

It's also true that some kids don't quite know what to do if they're on a dodgy trip.
Some do take in vast amounts of water in an attempt to dilute the effects down a bit.....and too much water taken too quickly can kill you in itself.

Re 'doormen' hand on heart, in 25+ years of going/working @ Arches, I've never seen anything dodgy. The opposite in fact.
What happens at fly-by-night gangster-owned clubs where nobody gives a flying fuck for the welfare of patrons, I've no idea. Not my scene.

[bormes]

It would seem the Doormen control it, they know who the "official" face is and others who try to sell are removed.

[Deleted]

Feb 3, 2014 9:08:01 GMT -1 bormes said:

It would seem the Doormen control it, they know who the "official" face is and others who try to sell are removed.

I imagine that might possibly happen at clubs run by gangsters, Bormes, and the reasons would be obvious.

Not at The Arches though. It's run by good people, has been since 1990, and gets regular subsidy from a number of reputable organisations.

There's two issues here:

1) The bastards who sell impure, dangerous drugs for profit
2) The kids who are still not grasping the risks (or maybe knowing them but going ahead anyway, even scarier..)

The 'war' on drugs was lost a long time ago. I think we need to get smarter.

[bormes]

Hem, at the moment I would suggest that the bastards who sell the impure stuff are no worse than the ones who sell pure?
Until it becomes legal they are all pricks,
I am sure your friends are decent people but the Arches do sell drugs, perhaps like our friend who moved to Sydney Australia, he never sold them either but he could NOT stop them being sold or he and his club would have suffered so no doubt your friends do not sell them, I am sure you are right but they are sold in their club, I assure you.
Ask Dougie next time we meet, he has been with the SDEA for years and there is NOT one club in Glasgow where they are not sold.
I do think some sort of reassessment must be done as the war against drugs has been LOST years ago and will never be won.

[Deleted]

Feb 4, 2014 19:10:18 GMT -1 bormes said:

Hem, at the moment I would suggest that the bastards who sell the impure stuff are no worse than the ones who sell pure?
Until it becomes legal they are all pricks,
I am sure your friends are decent people but the Arches do sell drugs, perhaps like our friend who moved to Sydney Australia, he never sold them either but he could NOT stop them being sold or he and his club would have suffered so no doubt your friends do not sell them, I am sure you are right but they are sold in their club, I assure you.
Ask Dougie next time we meet, he has been with the SDEA for years and there is NOT one club in Glasgow where they are not sold.
I do think some sort of reassessment must be done as the war against drugs has been LOST years ago and will never be won.

All drug dealers are scum, Bormes. What I was meaning was that those who deliberately cut drugs with even more toxic substances are the lowest of the low, IMV.

I'm not denying drugs circulate in most clubs, including the Arches. They DO take measures to try and stop the flow but as I said before, short of full body searches, I don't know how much more they could be expected to do.

I imagine Ron McC knows only too well what the problems are and he's far from alone in that.


This is absolutely NOT just a problem in nightclubs btw.


I should just say I work closely with the undercovers at TITP, where punter safety is paramount above all else. The senior production team, without exception, are all parents ourselves and we take our role as event managers extremely seriously.

We BADLY need a rethink on drugs policy and legality, even many senior police are acknowledging that fact.

In the meantime, though, we need to keep hammering the message through to young people and while I'm upset for my friends at The Arches, and the bad publicity they're getting from this horrible incident, I just hope that the awful story about this young girl's death might prevent more incidents.

And parents have SUCH a role to play in this: by being frank with our children, and helping them be confident enough to say no to peer pressure, as in, if your friends don't accept your personal choices, they're probably not your friends.

[ozneil]

I just thank god my kids got through it OK seemingly unscathed.

Now its the grand kids turn Not much I can do about it

Trouble is kids think they are immortal and it cant happen to them

[Deleted]

On the contrary, Oz.

Personally I think grandparents (and extended family) can be a HUGE help with stuff like this.
Kids often open up a bit more with them, than with their own parents.

What you reckon?

[ozneil]

They used too. Now I think they are past it, eldest is 25, youngest is 18 and is the last to have left the nest (Griffith University Queensland) One is still local finished Uni working in the city. Next is in Canberra and Germany depending on time of year, 3rd is living with mates nearer Uni. We see them about once or twice a year (3 times in a leap year). That's fair enough they have their own lives to lead. Last Xmas one had a better offer and didnt show.

If needed we know they are there and they know we are here.

[Deleted]

Ach, bejasus.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26077478

Please let these young people be OK

[ozneil]

They never learn and cant be told

[Deleted]

Latest:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26077478

I was dead worried there it was more dodgy pills, apparently not though, just kids getting so out of it on cheap (probably supermarket and cornershop) drink. Plenty 18+s up for being bunged a tenner to buy it for them, quelle surprise....

So easy at that age to be taken unawares, you've not learned your capacity for drink or whether that one more's gonna tip you over into....messiness. We've all been there, have we not.

[Deleted]

Latest:

The show planned for Ingliston Arena tonight was cancelled this morning. Edinburgh City Council refused the event licence due to safety concerns.

A good call, I think.

Should just say the problem, IMV, can't be blamed on any individual DJ: the problem's a cultural one.
Both these gigs were 16+ (not the more usual 18+) and crucially, it would appear that in Belfast underage kids were able to buy drink inside the venue, as well as being let in when tanked up on boggin' drink on arrival.

That venue's gonna face some mighty scrutiny, and rightly so.

For the sake of comparison, I helped form the TITP child policy.
We don't allow under 5s at the festival under any circumstances. Kids aged 5-16 have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, whose details we take on entry.

Those age 16 and 17 have to fill in a form on entry giving details of their next of kin. We run a 25 policy at the bars and anyone that looks under 25 need robust ID to be able to buy alcohol.

Not all gig promoters are as vigilant. Maybe they should be FORCED to be.

[Deleted]

Just a wee update re my opening post about the young girl who died.

Legally, she shouldn't even have got into The Arches at 17 but I'd mentioned in my post that fake ID's can be highly convincing. I also know how it can be easy to use the genuine ID of a family member who's maybe a year or two older but bears a family resemblance.

Now, I've no idea what happened in this particular case of course. But The Arches have made a statement today that shows just how seriously they take the welfare of their punters.

As of now, they have raised the age limit from 18 to 21.
Those under 21 who've bought advance tickets for clubs and shows have to return them and be refunded because they won't get in.

A very responsible attitude, I'm sure you agree?
Ultimately though, going clubbing didn't kill this girl. Dodgy drugs did.