Sydney pubs are flooded with cocaine
SYDNEY is in the grip of a drug epidemic so serious that a shocking 80 per cent of pubs and clubs have tested positive for regular narcotics use.
An exclusive survey by The Daily Telegraph can today reveal that partygoers are using heavy drugs in licensed venues right across the city.
Out of 25 licensed premises that we tested across greater Sydney, 20 displayed traces of illegal substances.
Most commonly detected was cocaine, traces of which were recorded in all 20 venues.
And while it has long been regarded as a party drug of the rich and famous, cocaine residue was found in the toilets of suburban pubs in Rouse Hill, Manly and Cronulla, as well as the city and Double Bay.
Eight venues tested positive to methamphetamine, or ice, and two for morphine.
The Telegraph used Wipetect Drug Screen Devices to swab the toilets.
Wipetect tests are commonly used by employers and parents who suspect drug use in the home or the workplace.
NSW Police Drug Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke said he was not surprised by the results, which showed that, despite continued efforts by police to reduce the manufacture and supply of hard drugs, people were still intent on using them.
“It doesn’t matter what the drug is called or who you got it from, you can be sure it was manufactured by a money-hungry criminal gang who has no interest in the health or wellbeing of its customer base; nor are they concerned about the effects on families,” Detective Cooke said.
“People should also think long and hard about the impacts drug convictions could have on their future. It’s just not worth the risk.”
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures reveal that in the 12 months to March 1 there were 2773 drug offenses recorded in licensed premises across Sydney, up 35 per cent in just five years.
Possession and use of cocaine in licensed venues has increased 87.5 per cent, while possession and use of ecstasy has risen 22 per cent.
“The bottom line is people need to remember that drugs destroy lives”
Amphetamine use and possession offences were up by 11 per cent.
Men between 20 and 29 are most likely to be booked for cocaine offences, while the same demographic is mostly responsible for cannabis and amphetamine offences.
In 2014, The UN World Drug report ranked Australians as the No.1 ecstasy takers in the world. We ranked third for ice and fourth for cocaine.
Detective Cooke said police were aware people were using illicit drugs in licensed premises and regularly conducted targeted and random operations within the venues in an attempt to combat it.
“The bottom line is people need to remember that drugs destroy lives,” he warned.
Nadine Ezard, clinical director of the Drug and Alcohol Service at St Vincent’s Hospital, was also not surprised with the results of The Telegraph’s investigation.
“Most people are using illicit drugs for excitement, pleasure and new experiences,” she said, adding that MDMA and ecstasy were the most commonly drugs used in clubs and pubs but a swab test of the bathroom would not detect them because they were often taken in pills or capsules.
Simon McGoram, who owns the Henrietta Supper Club in Darlinghurst, said there was a “zero tolerance” attitude towards drug use. However, the venue’s toilets tested positive for traces of cocaine and methamphetamine.
“If we see people involved in something illegal we ask them to leave,” he said.
Jonathan Coates, the operations manager of the Crown Hotel in Surry Hills — which tested positive for cocaine and opiates — said that the pub had completed a major renovation in an effort to “crack down on drug use and change the clientele”.
He said The Telegraph’s testing occurred days before the renovations began.
The Telegraph contacted all 25 venues tested for comment. Only 10 responded, and they all said they enforced a strict zero-tolerance policy.
Enjoying a night out without getting out of it
NOT all clubbers and pubbers are shoving powders up their noses or pills in their mouths, but the number of healthy revellers who reject hard drugs appears to be shrinking.
Emily Smith, 23, Melissa Smith, 22, and Lily Brown, 22, spoke to The Daily Telegraph outside the The Argyle pub in The Rocks last week.
They said that although they were anti-drugs and never took them, they frequently saw the effects hard drugs had on other people when they go out on the town.
“We are definitely not taking drugs,” Emily said. “In the older generations I think it’s more prevalent.
“I think it’s wrong doing it at all, rather than just in toilets. It is illegal for a reason, I think.”
Lily agreed, saying “you can see the effects” on people from using drugs in bars.
How we tested pub loos
SYDNEY’S nightspot toilets are covered in drugs, but in most of them you wouldn’t know it with the naked eye.
Leftover traces of cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs are not usually visible, and the surfaces of the cisterns and toilet seats look clean.
But the Wipetect tests conducted by The Daily Telegraph reveal the truth of what is going on behind the locked cubicle doors — and it has nothing to do with bowel or bladder movements.
We detected traces of hard drugs so often that it appears the only thing Sydney clubbers are wiping in the dunny are their noses.
The tester works by removing the lid, wiping a “collection pad” on a surface for 10 seconds and then adding 10 drops of “buffer” liquid”, before screwing the cap back on.
Resting it flat, the liquid moves up the tester, leaving a blank spot next to whichever drug was detected for a “presumptive possible result”.
A line appears if the result fails to find traces of a drug.
The tests identify opiates, methamphetamine, MDMA, THC (cannabis) and cocaine.
Dangers of meth are clear as crystal
IT’S an icy Saturday morning at St Vincent’s. Lots of drugs and alcohol.
The second patient on Saturday morning was a 38-year-old woman under the influence of crystal meth, otherwise known as ice.
She was very agitated and having paranoid delusions.
She thought she was being sprayed with an unknown substance by people around her. She was rubbing and licking this substance off.
It apparently tasted sweet.
Ice seriously messes with your brain.
As is common with amphetamine use, she was constantly scratching all over, leaving marks on her skin.
At 1.20am, a 20-year-old man who had taken three ecstasy pills, which are amphetamines as well, was brought in by ambulance.
He was very agitated and his heart was racing.
Nine minutes later, a 25-year-old drinker ran into a telegraph pole, badly splitting his lip and bending his nose.
Very bloody and painful.
At 2.03am, ambulance and police brought in a 48-year-old woman who had been running in and out of traffic, loudly using colourful language.
A couple of minutes later a very distressed 40-year-old woman was rushed in by her family as she was choking on a piece of food.
At 3.20am, an 18-year-old teenager came in by ambulance. He had been drinking heavily the last two nights but now was vomiting blood with severe abdominal pain. A very bad combination.
At 3.22am, a 22-year-old man was very agitated, very worried with palpitations and chest pain.
He had been taking cocaine and ecstasy. Both these drugs stress the heart.
On examination, his heart rate was dangerously fast and he was dizzy — a stage before a possible heart collapse.
Dr Gordian Fulde is the Head of Emergency at St Vincent’s Hospital.
What we found and where we found it
The Fiddler, Rouse Hill
Men’s - cocaine, meth
Disabled - cocaine
Castle Hill Tavern
M - cocaine
Women’s - negative
PJ Gallagher’s Irish Pub, Parramatta
M - negative
W - negative
The Ivy, CBD
M - cocaine
W - negative
The Steyn, Manly
M - cocaine
W - cocaine
The Oaks, Neutral Bay
M - negative
W - cocaine
The Sting, Cronulla
M - cocaine
W - cocaine, meth
Gold Fish, Kings Cross
Unisex - cocaine, meth, opiates
The Golden Sheaf, Double Bay
M - cocaine, meth
W - cocaine, meth
Hotel Bondi, Bondi
M - cocaine
W - negative
Marlborough Hotel, Newtown
M - cocaine
W - meth
Henrietta’s Supper Club, Darlinghurst
M - cocaine
W - cocaine, meth
Crown Hotel, Surry Hills
M - cocaine, opiates
W - negative
Aurora, Surry Hills
M - negative
W - cocaine
Star Casino, Pyrmont
M - cocaine
W - cocaine
Northies, Cronulla
M - negative
W - cocaine, methamphetamine
The Argyle, The Rocks
M - negative
W - cocaine
The Orient Hotel, The Rocks
M - cocaine
W - cocaine
The Bourbon, Potts Point
M - negative
D - cocaine
Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, Watsons Bay
M - cocaine
W - cocaine
Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee
M - cocaine
W - cocaine, methamphetamine
Greenwood, North Sydney
M - negative
W - negative
Macquarie Hotel, Liverpool
M - negative
W - negative
The Imperial Hotel, Erskinville
M - negative
W - negative
Bar Broadway, Ultimo
M - negative
W - negative
Source: The Daily Telegraph, Laura Banks, Ian Walker and Sarah Crawford, July 20th 2015
Originally published as: Sydney pubs are flooded with cocaine
