The party is about to start for more than 500,000 Queensland students entering their final day of school.
The annual Schoolies festival kicks off on Friday night as most school leavers celebrate the end of their secondary studies.
Police are wishing them well, but also urging caution and warning youngsters about the perils of the Surfers Paradise nightlife on the Gold Coast.
Drug use among schoolies is always a focus for police, and Detective Inspector Mark Slater says they should to stay away from illicit substances.
“If you are caught with drugs… it can have an impact in terms of a conviction, which can have an impact on things like employment, whether you can travel overseas,” Det Insp Slater said.
“So outside of the health issues there’s a range of different impacts you need to consider.”
Det Insp Slater said parents should talk to their children ahead of their getaways.
“The dangers of alcohol and what can flow on from that in terms of alcohol-related violence, accidents that can happen on unit balconies and things like that, parents should be speaking to them about possible ramifications,” he said.
The warning comes after a week–long, pre–schoolies crack down on illegal substances, where 35 raids were carried out from Mackay to the Gold Coast.
Police seized $1.25 million worth of drugs, mainly cannabis with some MDA and ice. So far 46 people have been charged with 164 drug offences.
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Barricades and fences have been erected on Surfers Paradise beach in an effort to control student parties, to the anger of some locals who are sick of the annual invasion.
Schoolies formally begins on Saturday November 19 with Queensland students the first to arrive, followed by interstate students a week later.
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