The Glasgow nightlife crisis that needs to be addressed

By Kate Bunney

(Glasgow City Centre, Sauchiehall Street. Credit: Secret Scotland – Wordpress.)

The Glasgow nightlife scene is undoubtedly one of the best in the UK. People come from all around the world to experience a night out in Glasgow, and rightly so. But after an unfortunate series of drug related deaths directly attached to a Glasgow based venue, is this reputation in jeopardy?

SWG3 is a popular spot in Glasgow, attracting electronic music fans from all over the UK and beyond. Sadly, over a six-month time span three young people died after attending SWG3 events with their deaths all related to drug use.

Of course, drug use isn’t commonplace for lots of people on nights out, but the fact is that for many, young people especially, drug use goes hand in hand with their night out. It is still a subject that causes a lot of debate, but it would be naive to think that drug use will ever cease to exist. It has an appeal to it that many will never understand.

However, there is obviously an issue when young people are dying unnecessarily. It is inevitable that drug use will happen, no matter how much it is discouraged, so maybe it is time to take a different approach.

I sat down with Gavin Heron, a Family Support Officer for Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol (SFAD). He has vast knowledge about the Glasgow nightlife scene and also works at major festivals such as Terminal V as part of their Welfare Crew.

I first asked Gavin if in his work he sees a strong correlation between young people taking drugs and them frequenting nightlife venues. Gavin said: “In terms of there being a correlation, at most, it's more of an assumption, and we're not really able to prove it. But we know that the use of these recreational substances with some types of music, definitely is really well correlated. And there's a long cultural history of people using those sorts of drugs in that context”.

Gavin continued: “Some clubs that maybe have a more particular focus on electronic music you might see the kids taking slightly more ecstasy, MDMA, 2C-B and ketamine. These kinds of drugs are what we class as club drugs. But what's impossible to say if whether attending those sorts of events makes you more likely to take those drugs”.

Drugs have always been prominent in the nightlife scene (Credit: Scientific American)

It is often believed that people feel the need to take drugs to escape something in their personal life amongst other more sinister reasons, but this really isn’t the case. Gavin said: “Trauma is one that often gets touted as the only reason anyone wants to take drugs as they've obviously suffered some traumatic event.

But we know that's not true that the size of the global drug market is so massive, that it would be impossible if only traumatised people were to take drugs in that manner. The other reason is because again, it just makes it cheaper. They may feel some degree of peer pressure if other people in their friend group are using, that they may have a desire to experiment and see what using these drugs is like in that context. And of course, they may just actually enjoy it, they may seek some pleasure from it that we don't get in any other way”.

So, what is going wrong with the current approach? All venues in Glasgow obviously have a zero-tolerance policy, but this doesn’t stop people and drugs make their way in regardless. Gavin explained: “A gram of cocaine is about the size of a postage stamp, and it can be hidden anywhere on someone's body, down someone's bra or in a shirt pocket. Bouncers don't simply have the time to check everybody because of huge queues and no one wants to be strip searched going into a nightclub”.

He continued: “In terms of what can venues do to discourage it? Very little. They can offer harsh penalties, but the problem is, the number of people that take drugs is so vast now and the supply of drugs is so huge”.

Depending on who you ask, you will hear differing opinions on who’s responsibility it is to ensure drug use is done in a safe way. Some are of the opinion that it is solely up to the individual that chooses to do it, as it was their choice to take something, and the consequences are on them.

However, when young lives are on the line it could be argued that this responsibility should be shared with the venues themselves. Gavin said: “I think it's definitely a symbiotic relationship between the people who attend events, and people who manage events. They need to have that awareness that people are going to be using substances in that environment. You don't book the world's 10 biggest techno DJs and expect no one there to be using drugs”.

The big question then is then what approach venues should be taking. Looking at the specific cases of the unfortunate deaths linked to SWG3, there are a couple of points that stand out. Gavin said: “I would say that there is a failure in education there to educate people about what drugs they are using, how strong they are, what the effects can be, and what risks you are taking”.

He added: “I think maybe the venue could be more open about educating, they could have someone on board to tell people, by having specific welfare staff, and not just leaving it up to security”. It is not the venues sole responsibility to educate people about drug use of course, but this idea of investing more into welfare teams would be beneficial both to the customer and the business.

If venues were more approachable, then this might encourage people to seek help when they need it instead of deciding to take something and not approaching someone until it is too late. Gavin said: “We need to educate people; we do need to encourage people to be able to seek help when they need it without fear of reprisal”.

Stereo, a bar and events venue in Glasgow city centre, has employed a tactic that many businesses could follow them in. They are employing welfare staff employed solely to look out for people who aren’t doing well, and not just chucking them out on the street. Gavin added: “There's no reason why pubs and bars should not be implementing something like that, if they're going to hold very large events that need security anyway and are going to have a lot of young people there, they cannot verify whether they're going to be taking substances or not”.

Stereo is a popular events venue based in Glasgow City centre (Credit: Stereo)

The topic of drug use is still very taboo, but this is a very real problem that needs to be addressed as we cannot allow any more young people to die in this manner.

If the perspective was changed to encourage young people to get help when they need it as well as educating them to make better informed decisions, as drug use is going to happen regardless, we might be able to ensure that less families are left without their loved ones.

If you are concerned about someone or are affected by someone using drugs, you can find support here.