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Club Drug Chaos
Dealing With A Perennial Problem
To borrow from hip-hop impresario L.L. Cool J: “Don’t call it a comeback.”
As too many club owners know drugs such as ecstasy, Rohypnol, GHB
and Special K did not go out with the disappearance of raves. They
simply changed venues, making news at bars and clubs around the
country. Bad news, that is.
Facing the Problem
John Schmidt, founder and president of the John Schmidt Consulting
Group and former undercover police detective, says there’s one sure way
to sink a club or bar in a quagmire of legal trouble, and that is to
ignore the use of club drugs.
“The first round of club drug trouble was around eight to 10 years
ago,” he says. “There were a lot of arrests. Nowadays, it’s all too
apparent that the drugs are still circulating.”
Schmidt’s job is to go into clubs, bars and concert and sporting
arenas undercover to see how things are operating and then give a
report to the owners about what’s really going on.
“A lot of times, the owners are just shocked. They can’t believe
what’s taking place. Stealing. Underage drinking. Drug use.”
Of course, there are some club owners who choose not to take steps to eliminate the use of these drugs.
“Some even encourage it,” Schmidt says. He points to establishments
that do a thriving bottled water business, selling bottles of water for
$5 and $6 dollars a pop.
“You’re really asking for it when you create an environment like
that,” Schmidt warns. It may look harmless — a club full of young
people sucking on candy and chugging spring water — but such a scene
should raise a red flag, since those guests’ behaviors indicate they
may be using club drugs, and the consequences can be dire.
“Often what happens is that someone goes home and things go wrong,”
Schmidt says. “Someone is date-raped or has a heart attack. There are
plenty of plaintiffs’ attorneys who are ready to find out where the
night started. As a club owner, you don’t stand a chance. The next
thing you know, your name and the name of your club is in the paper,
and you’re being dragged into court. It’s just not worth it. Especially
when it is so easy to stop it.”
Fighting It
Schmidt advises that the first and most important step is to make
it crystal clear to employees that drug use will not be tolerated. That
should be followed with establishing protocols that allow employees to
feel safe about telling management the truth about what’s going on.
“You have to make sure that the staff knows that they must report
anything illegal and that not only will they not get in trouble, but
they will be rewarded,” Schmidt says. Schmidt also advises letting
law enforcement know that you are dedicated to stopping the use of
drugs in your place of business.
“Form a relationship,” he says. “Tell them you are taking steps.
See what advice they have. Get law enforcement on your side.”
If these steps sound troublesome or expensive, Schmidt urges owners to reconsider.
“Bad publicity and court battles are much, much more expensive. Believe me.” NCB
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