What can I and my staff do to spot it going on?
Frequent glass collections, wiping tables clean provides a good excuse for “surveillance”.
Use of CCTV in your premises can provide an effective deterrent especially if it can be seen to be monitored by staff.
Regular checks by staff of toilets, avoid flat surfaces in toilet cubicles, coat with oily substances such as WD40 to deter use.
Remember the smoke free legislation has made outside areas such as beer gardens or smoking shelters more popular, so be aware of this and carry out regular checks.
Listen out for the jargon of drug users and drug dealers being used.
Work with the authorities and other pubs in your area
Although you and your staff are responsible for the day to day running of your premises, the police and local licensing officers are able to offer advice on preventative measures and support in dealing with this problem.
Encourage your staff to report all incidents or suspicion of drug misuse in your pub. Don’t be tempted to ignore a small problem or an isolated incident, failure to take decisive action may encourage further drug use.
Involvement in a local ‘Pub Watch’ scheme is an ideal way of promoting a joint, zero tolerance approach to drug misuse. Pub Watch meetings enable information on drug misuse to be shared amongst different pubs and helps to build up a picture of what is happening in your area.
Commonly used drugs are listed below along with their nick-names, appearance, symptoms etc but for more advice and especially if you think there is a drug problem in your pub then contact your local police.
Top Tip – don’t be afraid to approach the police about this problem, they will be more than willing to help and it is a positive thing, better you approach them than they turn up and raid your premises and put your licence in question! They will, if they have the resource and time, visit you or your Pub Watch meeting and bring along examples of the drugs used and the paraphernalia associated with them for you and your staff to look at.
Commonly misused drugs you may encounter in your pub
(The list whilst no means exhaustive includes those I have encountered the most during my career)
COCAINE
(Coke, Charlie, C, Snow, Dust and Posh) White powder which is grainy and can sometimes appear slightly shiny.
Cocaine produces feelings of exhilaration, strength, alertness, sense of self importance, that everything they have to say is fascinating. Traces on smooth surfaces used to cut and snort the cocaine the top of toilet cisterns, toilet roll holders and toilet rims are tell tale signs. Tightly rolled bank notes used to pay for drinks and customers making frequent visits to the toilets are another thing to look out for. Cocaine numbs pain and so someone under its influence who behaves in an aggressive manner may continue to fight, despite having been restrained or injured. A runny nose and persistent sniffing are common symptoms associated with cocaine use.
CRACK
(Rock and Crystal) Crack is the smoked version of cocaine and comes in the form of small white or cream wax-like rocks a quarter of an inch in size.
Crack produces a rush of euphoria, a loss of self control and often increased aggression, followed by a rapid depression. Users can be very aggressive and unpredictable making them difficult to deal with. The hallucinations can result in feelings of super human strength. Crack is often sold in small medicine bottles or in paper and foil wraps.
CANNABIS
(Dope, Hash, Blow, Grass, Pot, Weed, Ganja, Skunk, Wakky Bakky and Spliff). Cannabis comes in three forms. Herbal, resin and oil. Cannabis in all its forms is mostly smoked, although it is sometimes used in cooking such items as “Hash Brownies”.
Cannabis produces a relaxed sense of wellbeing, making the individual more talkative, less inhibited. Impaired co-ordination and judgment, affects short term memory and some people can become physically sick which is known as a ‘whitey’. Cannabis has a distinctive smell, aromatic, sweet and slightly sickly will often be the first sign that it is being smoked in your pub along with torn beer mats, cigarette paper boxes with parts torn away or foam upholstery used to make filters.