Parties at home
Around the world we seem to be seeing fewer and fewer people attending big parties and the number of clubs doing big business appears to be dwindling.
Does this mean we’re seeing fewer people partying? Some would suggest that they’re simply partying somewhere else, with more and more people hosting parties in their own home.
This could be due to a number of factors but, with the introduction of a range of new police interventions such as sniffer dogs and roadside drug testing, the chances of getting caught are far greater and many people do not appear to want to take the risk.
This does not necessarily mean they’re going to stop using illegal drugs. For many they’ll simply take them in a place that they regard as more safe -“ the home.
Over the last few years we’ve seen more and more research that indicates that many more people now elect to use a variety of drugs at their home or their friends’ homes than ever before.
Interestingly, ecstasy appears to be the one drug that continues to be far more likely to be used in a nightclub or dance party setting.
Due to the risk of overdose it is no surprise that GHB is often used in the home environment -“ although the deaths that we have had from G in our community have all been ones arising from use at home.
As for crystal, its use away from the nightclub environment is most probably due to the paraphernalia (i.e. crystal pipe) used to take the drug.
One of the real risks of partying at home is not being able to guarantee that there will be somebody around to look after you if something goes wrong.
The chances of having someone completely sober at the home are much smaller.
At a venue, there are always staff available to ensure patron safety and to call an ambulance if one is needed.
Even though people holding parties want to ensure the health and wellbeing of their friends is maintained there is often a reluctance to call for help for fear of attracting unwanted attention (something many venues are often accused of). As a result they hold off calling for assistance and unfortunately this has led to tragic deaths in our community in the past.
Remember: if you do not want any negative consequences, do not use the drug and, no matter how many times you have used a substance, never be blas?/p>
