Drug Bust on Gay Cruise

[Lucky]

The Advocate and other media are reporting a drug bust on the gay cruise this past week. With 5500 passengers, the Royal Caribbean ship Allure was a floating party. A friend on the ship told me of the people who went to the infirmary for help, only to be booted off the next day. At one party where several partiers were naked, one of them shit all over the dance floor. Atlantis Cruises, long the sponsor of these voyages, has been frequently accused of turning a blind eye at all of the drugs on board.

The Advocate reports that only one man was actually arrested, an alleged dealer. Two people came to his room to buy drugs while the bust on him was taking place. Lots of cash and drugs were found, so he is probably in deeper doodoo than the guys on the dance floor.

What's interesting about the Advocate online story are the comments. Many defend, many get in a huff, others accuse. But they are all in a tizzy: My link

[Lucky]

More from the website cruisebruise.com:

February 12, 2011

It was billed as the biggest gay cruise in the world, perhaps just a little too tempting of a business venture for Steven Barry Krumholz, 51, from West Hollywood (Mar Vista), California.

Krumholz was arrested aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Allure Of The Seas while the ship was in St.Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Allure Of The Seas had departed Port Everglades, Florida, on February 6, 2011.

Allure Of The Seas was chartered by Atlantis Events, which specializes in the gay and lesbian market. The sold-out weeklong sailing left from Ft. Lauderdale, visiting Nassau, Bahamas; St. Maarten; and St. Thomas. In St. Thomas is where things went wrong for Steven Barry Krumholz.

Customs and Border Protection agents boarded the ship Wednesday, February 9, 2011 and found drugs on another passenger, who alleged he had placed an order with Krumholz before the trip and picked the drugs up while on board, according to an affidavit submitted by one of the investigating agents.

Agents say they went to Krumholz's cabin, he wasn't there, so they entered and waited for Krumholz to come back to his cabin. While they were waiting

CBP officers found 2.83 grams of methamphetamine, 142-1/2 ecstasy pills, a quantity of ketamine, $51,020 in cash, and a US Postal Service money order in the amount of $960 in his cabin.

The amount of money found in the cabin, may indicate the quantity of illegal drugs that were brought aboard by Krumholz. Now the question is, how did he get that much illegal product aboard Allure Of The Seas in the first place? In any case, it would be safe to say that this one cruise made Krumholz's year, business wise.

The custody of Krumholz, the narcotics, and currency were transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further proceedings.

Agents say while they were waiting for Krumholz to return to his cabin, two of his customers came by to pick up the drugs they had ordered before the cruise. How is it that so many people who knew about the cruise also knew to contact Krumholz for the illegal drugs?

Investigators are sure to get more leads after reviewing the video footage from Allure Of The Seas showing who was going in and out of Krumholz's cabin. There may be knocks on the doors of California homes for months to come.

West Hollywood property records indicate that Steven B Krumholz is connected to a business consulting service, Steven Krumholz Consulting and a cruise booking travel agency. Sbk (Steven Barry Krumholz) Travel both located at 3415 Grand View Blvd, Los Angeles, California.

On Facebook, Krumholz is friends with Atlantis Events owner Rick Campbell, perphaps something Campbell is regretting at this point in time. Campbell has been the head of Atlantis Events since 1990.

It's good to know at this point, the law enforcement doesn't need a search warrant to enter and search a hotel room or cruise ship cabin, only the permission of the owner. The owner in this case, was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's representative, the captain.

Methamphetamine increases the release and blocks the reuptake of the brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) dopamine, leading to high levels of the chemical in the brain—a common mechanism of action for most drugs of abuse. Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and motor function. Methamphetamine’s ability to release dopamine rapidly in reward regions of the brain produces the intense euphoria, or “rush,” that many users feel after snorting, smoking, or injecting the drug.

Ecstasy is the chemical methyldioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. MDMA is a synthetic substance that has both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects and is commonly used as a date rape drug.

Ketamine has a wide range of effects in humans, including analgesia, anesthesia, hallucinations, elevated blood pressure, and bronchodilation. Like other drugs of this class such as tiletamine and phencyclidine (PCP), it induces a state referred to as "dissociative anesthesia"and is used as a recreational drug.

Ketamine is primarily used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, usually in combination with some sedative drug. Other uses include sedation in intensive care, analgesia (particularly in emergency medicine), and treatment of bronchospasm. It has been shown to be effective in treating depression in patients with bipolar disorder who have not responded to other anti-depressants. It is also a popular anesthetic in veterinary medicine. The black market street name for Ketamine is "Special K".

Ketamine as you may remember was in the bloodstream of cruise ship entertainer who jumped off a gay cruise, plunging into the harbor, later shot in the back by police.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' ships have been in a number of huge drug busts in recent months.

www.cruisebruise.com

[OneFinger]

I've been on a number of cruises with Atlantis and have really enjoyed them. The level of their entertainment is certainly better than RSVP or a "standard" cruise. And, I love being surrounded by people like me.

A lot of the theme parties are geared for a much younger crowd and I usually don't participate. But, I have seen private police wandering through the crowd and I assumed they were looking for illegal activities. And, we were warned well in advance of the cruise NOT to bring drugs with us.

I'm glad to see them cracking down sellers. Also appreciated the little bit of info that search warrants aren't required at sea. Interesting fact I didn't know.

[Guest twinklover]

I haven't been on an Atlantis cruise but have been to some of their land events which I enjoyed. From a libertarian perspective, I question this use of law enforcement resources. But maybe there is a spillover effect to the drug use that is harmful to others. When drug users are high interacting with others, it might be compared to being in a room full of cigarette smokers or a bar full of drunks in the sense that all of these experiences can be very irritating.