- A suspected overdose occurs at Crown Melbourne about once every two weeks
- That’s according to data supplied by Ambulance Victoria
One of the world’s largest casino resorts is home to a troubling number of suspected drug overdoses. That’s according to new data supplied by a national health agency on a freedom of information query.
Responding to a request for disclosure from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Ambulance Victoria, the emergency medical transport service of the state government, reveals that it frequently responds to Crown Melbourne. Many of the calls are related to suspected drug overdoses.
Over the past two years, Ambulance Victoria completed 59 emergency calls for suspected overdoses and poisonings at Crown Melbourne. First responders said the patients were discovered in a variety of areas, including hotel rooms, restaurants, lounges, nightclubs, and the casino floor.
The 59 incidents over two years equate to about a suspected overdose call once every 1.7 weeks. Ambulance Victoria says the numbers do not include calls related to public drunkenness and other alcohol-related issues at the casino.
Located on the south bank of the Yarra River, Crown Melbourne is Crown Resorts’ oldest casino. The integrated resort spans two city blocks, making it the largest casino destination in the Southern Hemisphere.
Crown Melbourne has nearly 3,000 slots and over 500 table games. The complex has 1,600 hotel rooms.
Government Looking the Other Way?
Criminologists speaking with ABC say the excessive ambulance calls to Crown Melbourne for suspected ODs warrant a government review. Vincent Hurley, a former police officer turned criminologist at Macquarie University, says politics is at play in allowing Crown Melbourne to continue allowing drugs on its campus.
The lack of response, and I am talking politically, to address this is just breathtaking. If these drug overdoses occurred in the main street of any town in Australia, it would be pretty safe to say that government would be straight onto it,” Hurley said.
In a statement, Crown Resorts pushed back on the ambulance numbers.
“Crown Melbourne operates on the scale of a small city. Tens of thousands of people on a busy night and 26 million visitors each year across three hotels, restaurants, bars, public spaces, and major transport access points,” the release explained.
Crown added that some of the ambulance calls dealt with prescription medicine interactions.
Australia’s Drug Epidemic
Australia, like many other countries, is battling a drug epidemic.
Health officials Down Under report a record-high use of numerous illegal narcotics, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. Australia has among the world’s highest meth consumption rates, and rates of party drug use like cocaine and MDMA continue to increase.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that almost half (48%) of all adults in Australia have used an illicit drug at some point in their lifetime, and two in 10 Australian adults used an illicit drug over the past 12 months. However, it’s worth noting that cannabis is considered an illicit drug by the Australian Government.
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