Managing Alcohol and Drugs in Event and Venue Settings: The Australian Case

Abstract

has resulted from the rising number of incidents of individual harm, violence, and community disruption that have occurred in and around these settings. This situation, in turn, has created a need to identify and better understand those factors with the potential to produce such negative outcomes, along with the practices that can be employed to minimize them. This study has been conducted in response to this need. This article begins by providing an overview of literature germane to: alcohol and drug use in public IntroductionPressure from the broader community on key stakeholders (i.e., events and licensed venues, government at all levels, police, alcohol licensing bodies, crowd controller/security firms, and industry associations aligned to the area) involved in responding to the challenge of managing alcohol and drug use in event and venue settings has increased markedly in Australia in recent years. This increased pressure One of the major challenges of operating events and venues is that of managing attendee/patron alcohol and drug use. In the Australian context, a rising number of alcohol and drug-related incidents in and around these settings have resulted in a renewed focus on how these negative outcomes can be more effectively controlled. In order to aid those charged with the task of addressing this matterevent and venue managers, police, security firms, alcohol and drug regulatory bodies, and governments at all levels-this article seeks to identify those variables with the potential to impact this management issue. Further, it aims to provide the previously identified stakeholders with a deeper appreciation of the raft of practices that are currently in use, and potentially available to them, as they build responses to this challenge at the individual state, precinct, venue, or event level. The research approach used involved an extensive literature review and a series of in-depth interviews with key stakeholders across three states-New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.

The interactive effect of location, alcohol consumption and non‐traffic injury

“…In particular, many injuries in public places occur on the way home after a night out, often in a drinking establishment [39]. Also, as a matter of routine, staff at drinking establishments will push incipient trouble, such as a noisy drunk or an intense argument or fight, out onto the street [40], motivated not only by avoiding disturbance of other customers but also by laws that an intoxicated person cannot stay in the bar, and by the threat to the establishment's license to sell alcohol if it has a record of fighting and trouble [41,42]. Our findings suggest attention in future studies to the location of drinking as well as of the injury, in studying the influence of location on the relationship between drinking and injury.…”

Uses of psychotropic drugs by university students in Switzerland

“…The reasons for non-medical use of psychotropic drugs are often multiple, but they can be grouped into three main categories: recreational use, self-medication, and performance enhancement, particularly at school [ 13 , 20 ]. The use of legal psychotropic substances, especially alcohol, has always been associated with partying [ 21 ], whether in a student or non-student setting, but drugs are also used in this context, either for their own effects or to enhance or counteract the effects of other substances [ 22 , 23 ]. With regard to self-medication, a study of university students in Norway found a significant association between psychological distress and the use of psychotropic drugs [ 24 ].…”