Probe: Drug use at clubs ‘prevalent’

Keith Paul

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 12:04 p.m.

Undercover Metro Police detectives have been investigating the "extremely prevalent" use of Ecstasy and other drugs in Las Vegas nightclubs for about a year.

"The drug use in the clubs is much more prevalent than the general public would believe," Deputy Chief Mike Hawkins told the Sun. "We have an ongoing investigation into several clubs."

Hawkins would not reveal which clubs where patrons are regularly using drugs. But he said the "club drugs" -- Ecstasy and GHB -- are popular in some Las Vegas nightclubs. GHB is commonly known as the date rape drug.

"About a year ago we started heavily into these investigations," Hawkins said. "Certainly the non-nightclub-going public is not aware of the degree of narcotics use in the clubs."

Some clubs seemed to become more popular as drug use increased inside the nightspots, Hawkins said.

There have been a some arrests as a result of the undercover work inside the clubs, but police are focusing on ferreting out drug dealers.

"With our limited resources we can do the most good if we go after the suppliers," Hawkins said.

Rumors about drug use have swirled around Las Vegas for nearly a year with some saying GHB was being slipped into drinks of unsuspecting club goers by other patrons.

Officials at several area clubs either could not be reached for comment this morning or declined to comment.

Allegations of Ecstasy and GHB in C2K, the nightclub inside the Venetian hotel-casino emerged Thursday during a civil lawsuit in Clark County District Court.

C2K operators are suing the Venetian for padlocking the club Aug. 30 after the resort claimed the lease was in default by allowing inappropriate behavior.

Venetian attorney J. Stephen Peek said in opening arguments Thursday there was drug use inside the club including slipping GHB into women's drinks to incapacitate them.

A 21-year-old woman died in an apartment in July of an accidental overdose of Ecstasy after a night at C2K. Metro homicide detectives investigated the woman's death and determined it was not criminal.

"We found the woman took the drug voluntarily," said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit. "She had the drugs before she went in (C2K)."

The woman's death was the fourth in two years in the Las Vegas area that has been attributed to Ecstasy use, according to Clark County Coroner Ron Flud. Ecstacy also was a contributing factor in a local suicide, Flud said.

Ecstasy is structurally similar to the stimulant methamphetamine -- also prevalent in Las Vegas -- and the hallucinogenic drug mescaline, Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse told a U.S. Senate caucus in July.

Ecstasy induces an euphoric feeling but also can cause a rise in body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure along with dehydration. Leshner told the Senate caucus the drug can have long-lasting effects on the brain and is extremely risky to the users' health.

Keith Paul

covers crime and public safety for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4057 or by e-mail at keith@lasvegassun.com.