People obviously have lots of thoughts on this and I’m sure it’s deeply personal for many, especially since we’ve lost so many friends and local community members to overdose.
It’s frustrating to see such a disconnect in this convo (as is true of most online discussions) but all I’m really seeing of this one on social is essentially:
weird disgruntled employee: “cocaine is a problem”
everyone else: “come on! commodore is great! This guy is weird.”
Cocaine is a huge problem in Charleston. And no venue or bar owner has the ability to stop it single handedly. But, bar owners, managers, and employees set a tone for whats acceptable on their watch and they do play a HUGE role in how it’s normalized in this community. If you have a spot (as cool as it may be) that’s friendly to known dealers and creates a space in which they feel comfortable selling cocaine – that’s a fucking problem.
If you’ve got a homie you know is trying to push a bag at your work – you have a responsibility to tell them to lost with that nonsense. Or go down to the corner and make it feel as sketchy as it is. If they know they can comfortably sell in your spot no problem, that you’re cool with it – then that’s a problem. And if that’s your reputation as a business, then it should be addressed. 100%
The worst kept secrets in Charleston are where you can score illegal drugs if you want them. Places have pretty known reputations. Regardless of what you think of the video, I don’t think anyone watches it and goes “What a surprise?!?!” But it’s not a Commodore or Palace specific problem.
I work at the Music Farm and we definitely find evidence of cocaine use. It’s hard to stop it from happening but we definitely kick your ass out and report offenders to the proper authorities when we do find it. It helps track down bad batches and issue alerts for people who have been exposed. We also require our staff to go through narcan training and keep narcan on hand behind the bar. And if you’re visibly super fucked up on drugs (or alcohol for that matter) you get the boot. (but we also try to help people get ubers home or have friends/family pick them up)
People are gonna do the drugs they want to do. That’s….whatever. It’s one thing to tell a friend to not do drugs, it’s another thing to make sure your employees and management aren’t playing a role in perpetuating the culture. Bar & venue owners have a responsibility to do as much as possible to prevent it where they can. Uncomfortable as it may be, it does save lives and make the city safer.
