| How to Avoid Spiked Drinks Jan 26th 2013, 00:00 There are many stories about drinks having been spiked with foreign substances and some of them unfortunately are true.[1][2] The act of spiking a drink is done with the aim of causing the target to become disoriented, unconscious, or to lower the targets inhibitions. The purpose of this may be as a precursor to sexual assault, robbery, or even in some cases it may be an attempt to sabotage sports players before a game.[3] Some of the drugs placed in drinks to create drowsiness or even unconsciousness include Rohypnol (Roofie) which is a sedative, GHB (Liquid X) a neuroprotective therapeutic drug which can cause unconsciousness, and Ketamine (Special K) an anesthetic used on animals.[4] If you have any concerns because you are alone or you don't feel that the situation is quite right, it pays to keep alert and limit your drinking. The following are some suggestions to help you to identify and avoid drinks that have been tampered with when consuming beverages at a social event or bar. - Stay with the drink service. If you are offered a drink by somebody you have only just met or barely know, stay at the bar as the drink is ordered and served. You will be able to see the bartender make it and hand it across the bar. Or, request that drinks be brought to the table by staff.
- Prefer unopened bottled drinks or cans over glass drinks. If you are not with people you can trust, have your drink from a bottle and watch the top being removed by the bartender.[5]
- Hold your drink on the top. If you get a glass drink, hold it in such a way that your hand covers the top of the glass. Holding it with your palm over the top instead of against the side of the drink will make it harder for anyone to slip anything in without you noticing.
- Always keep an eye on your drink. Do not leave your drink unattended for any time. Give it to a friend to guard or finish it off before racing off to dance or visit the bathroom. If you have to leave it and you return uncertain as to its safety, leave it and get a new one.
- Accept drinks only from people you trust. If you cannot keep an eye on the serving of your drink, or you have any misgivings about the person offering you a drink, it is best to politely decline. If you are having drinks with friends, you will usually be fine; and ask them to keep an eye on you if you do go off with anyone unknown during the night so that if anything untoward does happen, someone else will be onto it straight away.
- Avoid sharing other people's drinks. This could be a ruse to lull you into a false sense of security. Never grab a drink or steal one off someone you don't know; you never know what is in their drinks and just because they can handle it doesn't mean you can.
- Look for obvious signs of tampering. Things such as your drink being moved from where you left it, the straw having been taken out or one put in, less or more liquid than you remember, odd bubbling or fizzing, a different color or odor, floaters of any kind, empty medicinal packets next to the glass or on the floor, etc.
- Cease drinking anything that tastes funny. When you drink something that tastes off or unusual, stop right there and have no more. Immediately presume that the situation has become unsafe and either leave as soon as possible, or grab a friend to stay with or, better yet, leave together.
- Know that women can and do spike drinks as well.
- Remember anyone can be a victim of a spiked drink. Just because you're male, or a teen, or older etc doesn't make you immune.
- Space your alcoholic drinks with drinks of water. This helps you to remain more alert, so you are less likely to become disoriented. Also, if anybody places a foreign substance in your water, it will be more likely that you will taste it immediately. (Again, though, many of the chemicals commonly used are tasteless and colorless!)
- Be aware that drinks can be spiked with alcohol, for example, vodka, to get you drunk more quickly than you expect.
- Watch for symptoms of being drugged: these include feeling drowsy, feeling ill, starting to feel that you are losing control, your limbs feel like they cannot move, dizziness and queasiness, and beginning to lose consciousness. These symptoms will come on far faster then drunkenness, so it is important to know how your body reacts to alcohol so you can tell the difference.[6][7] Seek help immediately from friends or bar staff; or phone family and friends if you can't get immediate help where you are.
- If you see your friend displaying signs of being more inebriated than should be possible with the amount of alcohol they have consumed, act quickly to pull your friend out of the situation. Unfortunately, due to the fact that date rape drugs often have similar symptoms to simple drunkenness, it can be hard to tell the difference, making them even more dangerous.[8]
- Date rape drugs are for the most part colourless and odourless or may be masked by the beverage in which they are placed.[9]
Edit Warnings - It is never a good idea to leave a bar with someone you do not know – if, however, you feel that it is absolutely necessary to do so, be sure to inform friends who you are leaving with and where you are going.
- Be aware that any drink can be spiked, including juice, water, tea, coffee, soda and milk.[10]
- In addition, cigarettes can be spiked; only smoke your own.[11]
- Remember to always drink responsibly; a study in the UK found that only 2 percent of a pool of 1,014 rape victims had their drinks spiked with sedatives.[12] It is far more common in a bar situation for someone to take advantage of the fact that you are simply inebriated. Remember that alcohol is also a sedative with amnesiac effects.[13]
- One study conducted again in the UK on 75 patients, mostly female, who told doctors or police that their drinks had been tampered with, suggested that in fact the patients had been rendered helpless by binge drinking.[14]
- Don't get too paranoid reading this article. While the above tips and warnings are good advice to follow, you don't have to spend every evening you go to a bar in fear and terror. If you are worried about being drugged and/or raped all the time and it is impacting your life, you may have a fear or anxiety disorder, which can be treated.
Edit Things You'll Need - Reliable friends
- Mobile phone/cell phone
- Escape plan
- Keen eye for details
- A plan to not get drunk with strangers
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