GLITTER STRIP’S DARKEST NIGHT
The mass drug overdose at Broadbeach nightclub B3 in 1996 is still impacting the Coast’s night-life
THE Gold Coast has been a party precinct for decades, but the dark side of the night-life has occasionally shone through the neon glitz and glamour.
This week the Glitter Strip reacted in horror after 16 people overdosed after taking a deadly cocktail of drugs known as an “Nbomb”.
The drugs, a combination of LSD and MDMA, shocked paramedics who said it was the worst overdose incident they had seen in decades.
It came 20 years after a similar incident which was, at the time, the Gold Coast’s worst drug incident when police came face-to-face with the effects of liquid fantasy (GHB).
The incident had far-reaching repercussions which continue to reverberate today as arguments continue over lockout laws and nightclub closing times.
On October 6, 1996, 10 Gold Coast revellers outside Broadbeach nightclub B3 collapsed, affected by a mystery substance.
The mass overdose left eight of the victims on life support in intensive care for several days and shocked the local community, coming as it did just weeks before Schoolies.
Eight of the 10 victims, aged from 17 to 30, stopped breathing outside the dance club in Albert Ave within an hour of ingesting the drug.
The ‘fantasy’ was allegedly based on an ingredient imported from the US and was reportedly in a 375ml bottle of soft drink or bottled water from which the victims had swigged as it was passed around the dance club.
Operators of the B3 venue were issued with a notice from the Gold Coast City Council ordering them to cease using the premises for “indoor recreation’’ immediately.
The club had only opened in August that year and had a $3 cover charge, only serving water and soft drinks.
The then-Broadbeach Chamber of Commerce president John Walters called for a 3am curfew on all Gold Coast nightspots
“Before Sunday’s incident, we conveyed this view to the Gold Coast City Council, Licensing Commission and police,’’ he told media at the time.
“We need the support of the nightclub industry and the Gold Coast community to enable