Patron offending and intoxication in night-time entertainment districts (POINTED)

One in four young Australians (aged between 15 and 24 years) reported consuming alcohol at levels associated with short-term harm on a weekly to monthly basis in the past year, and more than 40 per cent of young people reported having consumed more than 20 standard drinks on a single occasion during that time (1, 2). This trend is concerning, given that it has been estimated that up to 47 per cent of alcohol-related deaths can be attributed to single sessions of heavy episodic drinking (3). Previous research has explored the role that factors such as transport, environment and security have on harms associated with heavy episodic drinking (4), but little is known about how consumption practices affect harm. There is also a lack of reliable evidence on the prevalence of substance use within the night-time economy. The Dealing with Alcohol and the Night-Time Economy (DANTE) study discussed in the previous chapter identified that only a small proportion (around 7%) of patrons entering nightclubs in two regional cities reported any form of drug use (4), although it was noted that this was likely to be an underestimation. Despite the small proportion of users, however, the current research suggests nights involving drug use are proportionally more problematic. An event-based analysis in Melbourne showed that almost one in five young psychostimulant users (19%) reported engaging in an argument or fight during their most recent session of alcohol and psychostimulant use (typically with a peer from their close social network), and around one in six participants (16%) had an accident of some sort (related to intoxication) or injured themselves (5). However, this data is limited by the absence of objective data to validate the quality of self-report.