DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES GET KUDOS FOR RESPONSE TO DRUG-RELATED DEATH

On Feb. 23, an 18-year-old Athens Tech student collapsed at a
downtown Athens music club. The next day he died.

Friends of the teen told police investigators that he had taken
methamphetamines, smoked marijuana, drank alcohol and ingested the
designer drug ecstasy before his collapse.

Realizing that they may all be vulnerable to similar tragedies,
downtown Athens bar and restaurant owners are working together to
keep history from repeating itself. About 30 business owners gathered
Tuesday for a special forum to discuss ways to identify and react to
potential drug overdoses.

The forum, which was sponsored by the Athens Downtown Development
Authority, included presentations by a University of Georgia drug and
alcohol counselor and the director of emergency medical services at
Athens Regional Medical Center.

The group was urged to take precautions when it comes to drug use
among patrons. The UGA addiction counselor told the business owners
that she's worked with students who unknowingly had drugs such as
ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol and LSD slipped in their drinks at bars.

We believe downtown bar and restaurant owners should be praised for
their efforts to prevent similar drug-related tragedies from
occurring again. It demonstrates that they care about the safety of
their customers and aren't just concerned about the bottom line.

This is also not the first time downtown bar and restaurant owners
have taken a pro-active stance when it comes to safety issues.
Similar forums have been held on other issues, such as preventing
underage drinking. In a town with tens of thousands of college
students and an extremely active bar and club scene, it is crucial
for business owners to act responsibly. Without effective
precautionary measures and enforcement of drinking laws,
alcohol-related deaths and injuries would be a much more common
occurrence.

We applaud those bar and restaurant owners who are going out of their
way to make sure that the safety of their patrons is a priority.