The House of Blues on Lansdowne Street.
Credit: Nicolaus Czarnecki/Metro
The Boston Licensing Board decided on Thursday that two of city’s most popular venues will not face sanctions after multiple people attending concerts overdosed on what is believed to be the club drug “molly” earlier this year.
The House of Blues and the Bank of America Pavilion were issued violations after the incident, but the Licensing Board members voted Thursday not to impose a sanction that could have included having their licenses suspended or even revoked.
Board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer said members took into account testimony about the incidents from police detectives earlier this week.
“We credited the sergeant’s testimony that there was no evidence that any of the drugs were sold or distributed at the premises,” she said.
Officials from both venues testified during separate hearings before the board on Tuesday. During the hearings they defended themselves and cited steps taken to prevent repeat incidents. Police also testified that they believed there was nothing else the venues could have done to prevent the overdoses.
An attorney representing the House of Blues said that while a woman who overdosed was found with pills and a powder on her, it was very easy to keep out of sight of security personnel. A House of Blues manager also said attendees were searched the night of the overdoses and that 133 people were turned away from the venue because they appeared too intoxicated or for other reasons.
Authorities said three people overdosed, including a woman who died, after apparently taking molly during a Zedd show at the Lansdowne Street venue on Aug. 27.
Just three days after the House of Blues overdoses, three people were taken to hospitals after overdosing at the Pavilion during a Sound Tribe Sector 9 show. Two of the men who overdosed apparently took molly, while the other man admitted to EMTs that he had taken LSD, according to police.
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