Drugs are central to a large part of Ibiza’s economy. The island is wholly dependent on tourism and what sets it apart from other Mediterranean destinations are the clubs.
I know that the island is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but that’s a subjective view. Places such as Pacha, Space, Amnesia, El Divino and Privilege are what draw the holidaymakers. Not everybody comes to Ibiza to dance, but enough do to make the difference between wealth and poverty for the people who own the island.
Anything which drove the clubbers away from Ibiza would have a disastrous impact. As a result many people believe that there’s a conspiracy involving club owners and the police which leads to them turning a blind eye to drugs. I’m not so sure.
I have seen the heavy handed way the Guardia Civil - the national police set up originally by the dictator Franco – set up road blocks to search people and their cars. Outside DC10 or Space it’s not uncommon to see clubbers being searched in intimate ways that would have civil liberties groups up in arms in other countries. Both sexes are liable to find rough hands inside their underwear as they look for contraband. Those that are caught face hefty sentences. Jail in Ibiza is not paradise.
The problem is that drugs are so ingrained in the tourist culture that it would require a real police state to eradicate it. I tend to think the solution would be worse than the problem.
As far as I know there have been no deaths directly from ecstasy, cannabis or cocaine consumption on the island. Indirectly, of course, they may have been factors in the unacceptably high number of road accidents on the island. But alcohol was far more likely to have been to blame.
Equally, people who are high on drugs are much less likely to be violent than those who are drunk. Turf wars between dealers are a threat to Ibiza’s general tranquillity. There was one highly-publicised shoot-out between gangs in San Antonio earlier in the summer, but, despite hysterical warnings in the British press, this has been an isolated incident. If it turns out to be more than that I’ll revise my opinions.
I cannot see a way of removing drugs from Ibiza without doing a lot more harm than good. In theory I’d be in favour of legalisation to take the trade out of the hands of criminals. I’m just not totally sure about how well the state would manage it.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Drugs in Ibiza – a personal view
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
Either way, it does mean there’s an enormous recreational drug market in Ibiza. Rumour always has it that dealing has either kept a number of businesses going or financed them in the first place. It’s very hard to prove, anyway, because so much of the tourist business runs on cash and, certainly, not every cent is declared to the Spanish tax authorities.
Drugs are definitely easy to buy on Ibiza. Ask around the pre-clubbing bars and you’ll soon find somebody to sort you out. Again, that could well be the same in UK towns and cities, but, as I said earlier, age is more of a factor there. A 51-year-old such as me just wouldn’t knowingly come into contact with dealers.
The other big difference compared with the UK is that Ibiza is a holiday destination. The tourists enjoying themselves in villas, apartments and hotels are transient. In their home towns they’d probably get to know dealers over months of going to the same pubs and clubs. There simply isn’t time to develop those relationships on this Spanish island.
In short: A lot of drugs are consumed here and their sale plays an important place in the island’s economy. Is that a problem? If so, what should be done about it?
I’ll look at that next.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
To start with let me say I’m neither condemning nor condoning the taking of drugs. I’d just like to offer my take on it as somebody who lives and works in Ibiza.
First let’s look at what attracts holidaymakers to Ibiza. For many, perhaps most, it is a familiar Mediterranean destination. They stay in villas, hotels and apartments in holiday resorts such as Cala Llonga, Es Canar and Santa Eulalia which cater mostly for British and German families. There’s little sign of drugs in these quiet resorts.
But, what makes Ibiza different from anywhere else in the world is the music scene. Clubs such as Pacha, Space, DC10, Es Paradis, Eden and Amnesia attract less child-oriented crowd. Mostly they’re young, under 30, many are gay, others are straight, but the common thread is we don’t have the responsibility of children.
Being over 50, the age thing is important to me. If I was in Britain I wouldn’t be going to clubs. Here in Ibiza dance music is open to anybody. Nobody bats an eyelid about me being on the dance floor, but that certainly was not the case in the UK on the couple of occasions I went clubbing.
So, I can’t really comment on the British club scene. I can only imagine that ecstasy plays an important part. Most types of music have their related drug, whether it’s LSD with prog rock, marijuana with reggae or speed with punk. Okay, not every member of the audience partakes, but a fair number do.
Certainly clubbers here pop a lot of pills, but maybe proportionately no more than do in British clubs, it’s just that on any night in the summer perhaps 15,000 people are in Ibiza’s discos and music bars. What I’m saying is that if you drug-tested that number of people in British, German or Italian clubs I don’t know if you’d find more had taken cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine or not.
Either way, it does mean there’s an enormous recreational drug market in Ibiza. Rumour always has it that dealing has either kept a number of businesses going or financed them in the first place. It’s very hard to prove, anyway, because so much of the tourist business runs on cash and, certainly, not every cent is declared to the Spanish tax authorities.
Drugs are definitely easy to buy on Ibiza. Ask around the pre-clubbing bars and you’ll soon find somebody to sort you out. Again, that could well be the same in UK towns and cities, but, as I said earlier, age is more of a factor there. A 51-year-old such as me just wouldn’t knowingly come into contact with dealers.
The other big difference compared with the UK is that Ibiza is a holiday destination. The tourists enjoying themselves in villas, apartments and hotels are transient. In their home towns they’d probably get to know dealers over months of going to the same pubs and clubs. There simply isn’t time to develop those relationships on this Spanish island.
In short: A lot of drugs are consumed here and their sale plays an important place in the island’s economy. Is that a problem? If so, what should be done about it?
I’ll look at that next.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Stealing for a living
Okay, I know I was going to talk about drugs today, but instead another negative Guardian article about living in Spain caught my eye: Crimewave may mean the party is over for Ibiza. This time the problem is house break-ins.
This has happened to a number of friends of mine who have isolated villas. In fact one of them says he has had enough and he’s going to sell up and buy a couple of apartments instead. I should say that robbery is not the only problem he’s had, but renting out his house is the way he makes his living. It’s a beautiful place so moving on is a big step for him.
Sometimes, although you don’t condone the break-ins, you can understand why they happen. Many big houses are unoccupied for all but a few weeks each year and they’re filled with easy-to-sell bits and pieces. Their owners seek seclusion which gives the thieves plenty of time to go about their business.
Burglaries seem to peak at the beginning and end of the season. The reason is: summer jobs are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, but people who arrive in April or May can be without any real income until the middle of June. Then the season sort of peters out in September or October, but, workers are seldom given much notice of when their jobs are going to end. So, robbery is a way to make ends meet or to provide cash to get home.
The Guardian article quotes a hotel-keeper who blames drug dealers for causing the problem. My initial thoughts were unprintable, but thinking about it he may be right. Dealers rely on holidaymakers as much as anybody else for their income. So, they also have to make a living when there aren’t tourists around.
Maybe drugs are the root problem. I will put some of my thoughts on the subject into writing tomorrow. Really.
This has happened to a number of friends of mine who have isolated villas. In fact one of them says he has had enough and he’s going to sell up and buy a couple of apartments instead. I should say that robbery is not the only problem he’s had, but renting out his house is the way he makes his living. It’s a beautiful place so moving on is a big step for him.
Sometimes, although you don’t condone the break-ins, you can understand why they happen. Many big houses are unoccupied for all but a few weeks each year and they’re filled with easy-to-sell bits and pieces. Their owners seek seclusion which gives the thieves plenty of time to go about their business.
Burglaries seem to peak at the beginning and end of the season. The reason is: summer jobs are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, but people who arrive in April or May can be without any real income until the middle of June. Then the season sort of peters out in September or October, but, workers are seldom given much notice of when their jobs are going to end. So, robbery is a way to make ends meet or to provide cash to get home.
The Guardian article quotes a hotel-keeper who blames drug dealers for causing the problem. My initial thoughts were unprintable, but thinking about it he may be right. Dealers rely on holidaymakers as much as anybody else for their income. So, they also have to make a living when there aren’t tourists around.
Maybe drugs are the root problem. I will put some of my thoughts on the subject into writing tomorrow. Really.
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