Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2008
Source: Xtra! (CN ON)
Column: Free Agent
Copyright: 2008 Pink Triangle Press
Contact:  http://www.xtra.ca/site/toronto2/html/city.shtm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2152
Author: Shawn Syms

POLICE VIOLENCE NO SOLUTION TO DRUG-USE WOES

Persecution Will Lead to More Harm, Not Less

"Overdose death spurred dance club raid." Sometimes the headlines 
tell the truth -- but not the whole truth.

Early one cold Sunday morning in March, 89 officers from over a dozen 
police agencies stormed into the Comfort Zone, an after-hours club at 
the corner of College and Spadina streets in Toronto.

Over 100 patrons were searched -- and some allege that 
assault-rifle-toting officers used excessive, violent force. 
Ultimately, 33 people were arrested, and police say they seized 
$30,000 worth of drugs and $35,000 in cash.

In online discussions, those present claim the police disabled the 
bar's security cameras so they could act with impunity, and took 
every last penny they could find, right down to the coat-check 
person's tip jar. Patrons who were not arrested subsequently told 
news media they were thrown to the ground, punched, kicked, stomped 
in the head and bloodied.

Why did this happen? Police allege that the bar was responsible for a 
drug-overdose death. Twenty-six-old Hamiltonian Andrew Fazio died in 
his home on January 27 after using the party drug GHB. "This young 
man died as a result of an overdose of illegal drugs which were 
purchased and consumed at the Comfort Zone," Detective Sergeant Ed 
Roseto told reporters at a Metro Police press conference the day 
after the raid.

"We are working [...] to close this place down," said Roseto, who 
described the bar as "pitch black inside," and claimed there were 
tables of drugs laid out openly in the bar for sale. He likened it a 
"flea market."

The deceased man's sister tearfully told reporters that her brother 
had only been introduced to GHB in January, and by the end of that 
month he had died. "I'm very happy that a place like this has been 
closed down, so now another family will not feel this way," she said.

On the surface, this may sound pretty straightforward. People are 
dying and police have identified the place where fatal drugs are 
being bought and sold. It only makes sense to shut it down. Or does it?

Any death related to the use of any substance -- legal or illicit -- 
is a terrible tragedy. And it's pretty clear that if people engage in 
activities that break the law, they expose themselves to the risk of 
police persecution.

But there may be little relationship between this man's death and the 
Comfort Zone. A friend of Fazio told media the man had been using GHB 
all weekend long at multiple venues, casting doubt on the police 
rationale for the raid. And numerous online commentators have 
asserted that Fazio was hardly the naA-f portrayed in the press 
conferences but an "avid clubber" and known GHB dealer himself.

The police raid, part of a larger operation with the dubious moniker 
of Operation White Rabbit, took place within a larger context. The 
federal Tories have adopted a position that evokes the US 
government's failed "War on Drugs," insisting that drug use is a 
criminal issue rather than a health matter, despite mountains of 
evidence to the contrary documented in respected sources ranging from 
The Lancet to Foreign Policy.

A non-licensed venue, the Comfort Zone is well-known in the Toronto 
club scene for its positive vibe and as a home for distinctive house 
music. Many see it as a non-violent alternative to the 
alcohol-fuelled, testosterone-driven atmosphere of the city's 
Entertainment District -- which is full of bars where an arguably far 
greater amount of drug use and sales transpires anyway.

The Comfort Zone shows few signs of capitulating to police pressure. 
The following Sunday, the bar was packed despite the fact police made 
a return visit and placed two more people under arrest. There were no 
flea-market-style drug tables in sight, just people enjoying the 
music like usual. Later that night, a couple police cars were 
stationed outside the bar -- perhaps to frighten people away.

Persecuting people who use drugs and shutting down places where they 
socialize is likely to lead to more untreated overdoses and 
fatalities, not less. Targeting the Comfort Zone will have little 
positive impact on drug-related harm. The police have manipulated a 
family's grief and sorrow for ideological ends. That's a tragedy too. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake