ICE AGE DEFINITELY ISN'T COOL

RAMPANT drug use and dealing at some unsavoury nightclubs is out of control.

The blatant disregard for drug laws includes nightclub staff tipping
off patrons when undercover police are on the prowl.

Some teenagers are making up to $1000 a night selling amphetamine
and ecstasy tablets during nightclub hours.

The crazy culture even sees nightclub security staff turning a blind
eye to males and females sharing single lavatory cubicles.

Lavatory facilities also are used for the preparation and
administration of illegal drugs.

The nightclub culture gets worse.

An investigation has shown:

* Ambulance crews struggling to cope with stricken users of
amphetamines and cocaine.

* Drugged males spoiling for fights around nightclub dance floors.

* Terrified females unwilling to enter certain nightclubs.

* Irregular police presence in nightclub precincts after 3am.

Luckily, all the above came from an investigation by our sister
Melbourne tabloid the Herald Sun and centred on an inner southern
suburb in the Victorian capital.

But police drug raids on nightclubs in Queensland at the weekend
indicate our law enforcers are aware of growing problems here.

But instead of being applauded for their drug diligence and
initiative the Queensland coppers found themselves criticised by
civil libertarians.

It was 'policing for show' and 'targeting recreational users'.

Even the sniffer hounds were in the civil liberties' dog-house for
'embarrassing' nightclub patrons!

Short of drug dealers giving themselves up (yeah, right!) the police
have to start somewhere.

"If you keep arresting people for drug offences sooner or later
there is a lead or a trail to a dealer," one senior detective told
The Gold Coast Bulletin.

NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney recently pinpointed crystal
amphetamine 'ice' as a worse problem than heroin and 'the greatest
scourge' of his 41-year career.

Commissioner Moroney was backed by the Gold Coast Drug Council and
NSW magistrates.

Bashings, gang rapes and other violence are often attributed to the
'ice' age and the drug's reputation as a psycho-stimulant.

The 'iced-up' blockheads cause drama when taken to hospital and tie
up valuable ambulance crew hours when they collapse.

The Bulletin reported this month a federal raid at a Murwillumbah
property in April discovered a lab capable of producing 300kg of
'ice'. With 'ice' retailing at $100,000 a kilogram you can quickly
work out why civil libertarians have their heads up their backsides.

Brisbane's Fortitude Valley nightclub haunts may be Queensland's
number one drug haunt.

But with Indy roaring at the weekend and the nightclub lockouts
suspended it will not be any surprise if the 300 extra coppers in
town score some four-legged reinforcements from the drug squad.

Tweed 'ice' works are only down the road.

Thanks to the latest Queensland legislation, the sniffer dogs can
now enter all licensed venues plus public transport.

It is not a dog's life in the drug squad either. In addition to
trips to the Gold Coast, Airlie Beach, Cairns and Mackay have
recently welcomed the hounds to their lamp posts.

The three-day national drugs conference on the Gold Coast this week
reviewed the clandestine laboratory production of illicit drugs.

Despite Queensland's restrictions on the pharmacy sale of cold
medications containing chemicals used in amphetamine production,
police report illegal drug labs are 'flourishing'.

This includes the Brisbane Valley, rural areas between Brisbane and
the Sunshine Coast and other acreage areas.

"Anywhere where the stink from cooking amphetamines cannot be
detected," the senior detective reported.

Some of the crazy drugheads even burn down old shacks and homesteads
when the 'cook' gets out of control.

Little wonder certain laboratory equipment is selling like wildfire
and has drawn government attention.

But don't worry about it, say the civil libertarians. We cannot have
recreational drug users embarrassed.

The bad news is the civil libertarians may score support from
privacy watchdogs. Complaints from nightclub patrons have spread
nationally and were taken seriously when nightspots, including some
on the Gold Coast, started using drivers' licence scanners to boost security.

Despite the do-gooders, Queensland police have made some inroads on
drug production as well as illegal drug useage.

Police Minister Judy Spence confirmed 111 clandestine amphetamine
laboratories have been upended in raids this year.

Dozens of arrests were wrapped up after suspect over-the-counter
pharmacy sales of cold/flu medication containing pseudoephedrine.

But drug demand means the dogs will not be sleeping the nights away.
Not when a gram of amphetamine can be sold for $150 and an ecstasy
tablet sold for $10 or more.