gair rhydd y Monday February 16th 2015 | freeword | Issue 1044
In this week’s issue: What Cardiff students expect from the general election, the University threatening to prevent graduations, library cuts protests a success and the 2015 Sport survey results
Y Plastered: Treatment’s drug problem
• “Over half the people that walk through the doors have drugs with them” • Staff alleged to have been complicit in supply of drugs EXCLUSIVE Alexander Norton
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opular house night “Treatment” is the site of widespread illegal drug use, staff have claimed. A number of current and former Venues employees have confirmed to Gair Rhydd that the drugs being routinely used at the resident event include Class A substances such as ecstasy and cocaine. One staff member stated that “over half the people that walk through the doors have drugs with them” but that only those “who have brought in a large amount for distribution or those who leave it in their wallet get caught”. “Nobody is ever going to check
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bras or boxers so the majority get away with it,” they added. Those who spoke to Gair Rhydd did not believe that enough was being done to stop drug use at the event and spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity. One employee claimed: “every time I go to the toilet I see hordes of people queuing for the privacy of cubicles [to take drugs]”. Yet the issue of drug usage is reportedly not limited to those who buy tickets; those behind the bar at the Students’ Union have also been alleged to be involved in the supply of drugs.
One worker confirmed that during their induction they were “warned of a possibility of random searches by security” as a consequence of past incidents. It was claimed by the employee that in the past “staff would smuggle in bulk and then pass on to non-staff once past security.” The scrutiny applied to Students’ Union staff has little effect on the personal lives of employees. One worker admitted to Gair Rhydd that they “regularly go to work stoned, as do other people I’ve spoken to”. The event is hosted in Y Plas, the nightclub in Cardiff University Students Union. The union said that any-
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one found to be carrying substances will be “refused entry to the venue or ejected and issued with an automatic life ban”. People found to be in possession of Class A substances face a prison sentence of up to seven years. Those involved in the supply of Class A substances face a maximum punishment of a life sentence. The seriousness of the situation was reiterated by another member of staff, who claimed that: “Everybody loves working Treatment. The running joke is all you have to do is serve water because everybody is fucked on stimulants.”
Pictured:
Y Plas on a club night. (Photographer: Cardiff Students’ Union)
Continued on page 4
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