Drugs

He has said it again and again, in no uncertain terms. In Rodrigo Duterte’s understanding of the universe, there is nothing more important than crushing the drug menace.

On his first hour on the job, in his first day in office, Duterte promised to go hammer and tongs against the powerful syndicates responsible for the epidemic that now threatens to shred the fabric of our nation’s life.

In Duterte’s mind, this is the battle on which everything must be put on the line. This is the engagement that will be the primal test of his presidency. This is where he will pass or fail.

This is not something fluffy like “legitimacy.” This is not about an abstraction like the “rule of law.” This is war.

The drug menace poses an existential threat on our national community. Either Duterte wins or we all lose.

Since winning the elections, the Davao mayor has been preparing for what promises to be a brutal fight. Like a wily old general, he has chosen the commanders he trusts. He has collected intelligence on the enemy, including three police generals he claims to be coddling the syndicates. He has his squadrons ranged, his key pieces honed.

The obsessive preparation shows in his impatience with anyone who threatens to blur the field of battle. He once snapped back a the CHR chair and called him an “idiot.” He bluntly told the UN human rights rapporteur to go home and get some sleep.

There is every indication this will be a fight where no quarters are offered and no solace sought. The police, who will man the frontlines, are going through their paces, taking down one drug dealer after the other with the intermittence of war drums announcing an advancing army.

Handsome bounties have been offered by both sides. On the one hand, the President-elect offered cash prizes for the heads of drug lords. On the other hand, the drug lords are said to have pulled together a billion pesos for the heads of the President-elect and his tough incoming police chief.

Our citizens are sick and tired of the drug dealers. Day in and day out we are treated to news of brutal rapes and gory homicides perpetrated by drug-crazed zombies. There is little objection to the use of iron fists to deal with the matter.

This will likely be bloody. This will be rough and relentless. This is why our people elected Rodrigo Duterte president.

Rave

Blame it on the generation gap. I do not understand why these events are called “rave” parties.

It seems to me that, almost by definition, these are events where young people need to be on something, very likely drugs, to cope with the frenetic energy, the loud music and the long partying. It is almost oxymoronic to organize “rave” events and then hope attendees will not ingest stuff that drive up their energies, blow their mind and, eventually, explode their blood vessels.

Over and over again, we hear stories of “party drugs” being used quite openly in select clubs where people dance until way past breakfast. How could it be possible that people would organize a large “rave” party, mainly to sell toothpaste, and not expect wide use of dangerous mind-bending substances?

In the sparse session days after a landmark presidential elections, our legislators found the time to hold a public hearing on the matter of that “Close Up Forever Summer” concert held on the grounds of the SM Mall of Asia. Four youths died during that concert, all from some sort of cardiac arrest. Several others were hospitalized.

The deaths, of course, did not result from the ear-blasting music played. Investigators have found traces of synthetic substances in the bodies of the victims, suggesting that the deaths were caused by some sort of substance abuse.

The probably fatal synthetic substances were identified as “green apple” (or “green amore”), a powerful mix that includes the party drug Ecstacy mixed with shabu and others. The mix causes an increase in heart rate, even palpitations.

Some of the substances are not explicitly listed among drugs prohibited by law. The entire cocktail, including banned substances, appears to have been peddled outside the concert grounds. The NBI has since arrested several individuals identified as having proffered the drugs to concert attendees.

While the event was organized by Close Up toothpaste, conduct of the activity was subcontracted to other groups. Eventscape handled stage management and coordination with the Pasay City government. An outfit called Activation provided 200 bouncers for the party – trained to handle unruly crowds but not ingestion of substances.

The Pasay local government reports they sent policemen to help secure the concert area. They were kept around the perimeters of the concert venue and were not specifically tasked with suppressing drug use among the attendees.

This is how tragedies happen. Every group involved in the conduct of this event appears to be doing their own thing and no one was took responsibility for preventing ingestion of substances among those in the crowd.

This pretty much mirrors the state of things in the larger community. Until they themselves become victims of drug-crazed zombies, citizens tend to blissfully ignore drug-users in the neighborhood.

Attitudes need to change. Citizens must exercise greater vigilance against drug-dealing and drug-use. Those who organize “rave” concerts, in particular, must be held responsible for ensuring the audience is “clean.”

We might expect, after June 30, a flood of reports from citizens about substance abuse in their vicinity. The police must be primed to act on this flood.