After a string of drug overdoses and multiple arrests at the Ocean Club in Quincy, police want to cancel a Sept. 20 event at the popular Marina Bay night spot and possibly bring club management in for Licensing Board review.
"Right now we have no indication that anyone in the club was involved, but we're still pursuing that avenue," Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan said Wednesday. "We're meeting [Thursday] with management of the club and the property to see what will happen going forward."
Club manager Tim Collins did not return repeated calls for comment.
According to police, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, ambulances responded to 12 overdoses at the club, most of them associated with the drug known as "Molly." None of the overdoses was fatal.
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Keenan noted that the Ocean Club is a seasonal venue and that after a couple of overdoses in May, activity seemed to subside briefly. There was another overdose in June, he said, followed by several more in July and August.
Molly, a pure form of the main ingredient in the drug ecstasy, typically causes an increased heart rate as well as dehydration. Overdosed victim usually are rendered unconscious, Keenan said.
"We had no fatalities, but we wanted to get out in front of the issue," Keenan said.
After several overdoses, police met with Mayor Thomas Koch to implement a drug watch program at the nightclub. After witnessing several drug transactions, police began making arrests in late August. According to Keenan, police busted deals in the parking lot and inside the nightclub over the past two weekends.
Eight people have been charged with possession or distribution of drugs; one of them was arrested twice. Three more people have been summoned to court. The arrested suspects are from Boston, Chelmsford, and Hull, as well as Rhode Island and Connecticut.
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Though the Ocean Club has been closed for the season for regular admissions, the concert locale is set to host a party on Sept. 20. In light of the drug problems, police said, they'll suggest owners cancel the event. "In the interest of public safety, I don't think it's a good idea with what we're looking here in overdoses and arrests," Keenan said.
In the meantime, police have remained on the lookout for the drug to pop up in other areas of the city but suspect that the users were attracted by the techno music playing at the club, rather than the location itself.
"They follow those DJs," police Captain John Dougan said of people who use or sell Molly. "It's not because it happened to be in Quincy; these people are all from out of Quincy. I'd say it's more a crowd; it's almost like a rave following."
Dougan said Boston has struggled with similar problems in techno nightclubs, including a recent death of a concertgoer at the House of Blues, but was unsure how widespread the problem had become in other communities.
Jessica Bartlett can be reached at jessica.may.bartlett@gmail. com.