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House of Blues turns down the heat, adds ice water for electronica shows due to Molly scourge

Managers at the House of Blues on Lansdowne Street say they're doing everything they can to keep patrons from popping Molly pills, but just in case, they're taking steps to keep overdose victims from dying at electronica shows - as happened at a Zedd concert Aug. 28 - after meetings with both Boston Police drug detectives and drug specialists from the Boston Public Health Commission.

These steps include stationing five-gallon jugs of ice water across the venue and setting up a cooling room stocked with ice to deal with the elevated body temperatures and dehydration Molly overdose victims can suffer. The club is also now hiring a squad of three EMTs - with one to stay on premises at all times, even if the other two are transporting OD victims to local hospitals.

House of Blues officials explained the steps at a Boston Licensing Board hearing on the Aug. 28 incidents, which left one patron dead of an apparent Molly overdose.

Boston Police detectives said they had no evidence that the three victims bought the drugs in the venue, although a detective said it appeared at least one of the victims may have taken pills while inside. The woman who died "had taken the drugs outside the club," a detective said.

Elizabeth Steele, a security manager at the House of Blues, said she responded around 12:45 a.m. to a report of a woman in trouble near a stairway. Steele said the woman was "convulsing on her feet." She brought her and her sister to a stairwell, which was quieter and cooler, and laid her down. "She was completely unresponsive," Steele said. "I tried to ask her questions. She said nothing."

A police detective said that when officers arrived at Beth Israel Hospital in response to reports of three overdoses, they found hospital personnel performing CPR on the woman, but that they were unable to save her.

The other two victims - a woman and a man - survived. The detective said the woman had two pink pills in one of her pockets and a packet of powder in her bra. He said a State Police lab has yet to report an analysis of the powder.

Ralph Martin, another security manager at the club, said he responded to the woman who did survive, around 11 p.m., after getting a report she had fallen. She was dehydrated and her pupils were not dilated - even when he shone a light in them - he said. "Her eyes were also twitchy," he said. He summoned an EMT on detail outside the club, who advised a trip to the hospital. But the woman refused, he said. Then, as he was walking her out, "she started to collapse again," he said. That time, he said, she was put in an ambulance for a ride to Beth Israel.

Club officials say they have worked closely with Boston Police and the Boston Public Health Commisssion to develop training for employees for recognizing Molly use and that posters have gone up around the club warning of its dangers.

Manager Declan Mehigan said this is in addition to the scrutiny he said has already gained the venue a rep as "the House of Rules." He said that night, 133 people were turned away from the door because they appeared pre-soused or otherwise unfit for entrance.

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Comments

Sounds like they took precautions (not letting people in if they looked messed up), and are planning on taking more. What else can they do? Just BAN electronic music? If people make bad decisions, the club should not be held responsible.

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I know people that have taken molly at Springsteen shows, country shows, regular bars on a regular weekend night. Sure the EDM shows will have a higher percentage of patrons taking drugs and therefore more chance of an OD, but molly isn't only taken at these electronic shows. Also, outside of doing a cavity search it can be very easy to smuggle into these venues and only takes a second to consume. How the venue is supposed to control this I have no idea. If people want to experiment and end up taking to much that has to be on them. Enough passing the blame onto the venue.

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This sounds like a bad idea. You really don't want to give huge amounts of water to MDMA users:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_MDMA_on_t...

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Too much water can be a bad thing. How about they just allow bartenders to give it away in cups for free, then people won't gouge themselves on it.

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giving water and regulating the temperature of the building is a good approach, something like giving gatorade which has potassium/sodium is the best approach.

The other problem here is that "too much water" is not defined. When is it likely to have that issue? if you have been using this stuff for a prolonged period? or during a normal use?

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should now be water regulators? No thanks.

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The point being is that people don't sit there and drink a gallon in one sitting. That's all.

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But what you're suggesting is bartenders shouldn't give someone multiple cups of water back to back? Again, we're back to bartenders regulating water intake of adults. Not really in their job description.

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So with that said, why don't we just have huge bins of booze instead of bartenders? I mean we're all adults, we know when we've had enough (or had too many), we can regulate ourselves, cuz that's what you're trying to say here..

I also agree with the poster above (or below) that said something about it being spiked with something. Bartenders can insure that the water isn't spiked with GHB or some such silliness.

Bartenders also serve another role besides giving you a drink, they MONITOR people for well being. If someone has had too much to drink or is causing issues at the bar, you bet that bartender can quickly call a bouncer to defuse or remove someone from the situation. (and I know this all too well, I worked at Axis a long time ago as a barback)

Same deal with water and MDMA users, the bartender can SEE if the person looks not well while giving them water and maybe call someone over before the worst of the worst can happen. And yes this IS in their job description.

When you're on MDMA, you could go ALL night without ever seeing a bar staff (bouncer, bartender) except for door folks, since you're typically not drinking booze, no need to go to a bar. The point being is getting NOTICED if something is wrong, not waiting for someone to find you OD'd in a stairwell by some security guard.

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There aren't big bins of booze because surprisingly, the bar would like to SELL that booze to you, not give it away free. As far as MONITORING (love the caps by the way) alcohol consumption, yes, that is in the bartenders job description and they take classes on it. What class teaches them to monitor the water consumption of people on MDMA? Is there such a class, or are they supposed to just make it up as they go along. What if I'm in the bar and I'm dehydrated because I ran a marathon that day and I want to drink multiple cups of water? Are they supposed to tell me no?

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will the water be secured to avoid date-rape drugs from being placed in the water? Or any drugs for that matter- someone might find it "funny" or "cool" to spike a concert water cooler with drugs "so others can enjoy the show" by partaking in the drugs.

I've only ever seen 1-2 bars with water out and accessible to the general population, but there aren't that many bars that have the clientele to be able to do that safely.

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the paradise already does this I believe. Also there are ways to secure the top of a five or 10 gallon water cooler. Also you can leave it on the bar and the bartenders should be able to see if someone is taking the time to unscrew the top.

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Chill rooms and the outdoor smoking areas can be used by those needing cooling down. Making the main hall cold is less fun for those not on drugs and harder to get warmed up. People all layered up is also hardly sexy. Dance scenes where the magic happens are usually the places that get warm, sweaty, and people shedding clothing layers.

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they have a cooling room. which is for people over heating. you do this sort of thing for dehydration and heat stroke in outdoor sports practices. you have something ready on hand in case you need to cool someone down rapidly.

they are not turning the entire club into a freezer

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Right...because a sexy dance scene is more important than people dying.

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Mama wants to jiggle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b3IEmvM3l0

Best bring your water bottle, best bring your water bottle ...‎

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