Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2005
Source: Delta Optimist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc
Contact:  http://www.delta-optimist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1265
Author: Maureen Gulyas
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?158 (Club Drugs)

PRE-GRAD WARNING ISSUED ABOUT DATE RAPE DRUGS

One Day Last Week, Three Students Had A Drug Slipped Into Their Drinks 
Without Their Knowledge.

Within 10 minutes, the three appeared to be extremely drunk. They began to 
wonder why they were feeling so drunk and how they got to where they were. 
They started to vomit.

By the time 20 minutes had passed, they no longer had control over their 
bodies. They started to shake. Their hearts raced uncontrollably and while 
they tried to speak, the words just didn't come out right.

Some were lucky and were taken to the hospital, while others weren't so 
fortunate.

"If you're unlucky, someone will be waiting for the opportunity to take 
advantage of you," said Marissa MacDonald, a representative from Student 
Nurses for Clean Drinks, an organization which educates students about date 
rape drugs.

None of this actually happened - it was part of scenario presented to 
graduating Delta students last week at Seaquam secondary.

The timing of the presentation by Student Nurses for Clean Drinks, 
Vancouver and Delta police was no accident. It was meant to coincide within 
grad festivities.

While the police officers wished the teens a good time at their parties, 
they wanted to arm the Grade 12 students with useful information to avoid 
being victims of the date rape drugs.

At the door to the school's theatre, students were invited to take a glass 
of Coca-Cola. Det. Lisa Coupar, a sex crimes investigator with the Delta 
police, then asked the students to check the bottom of their cups. The cups 
marked with an X meant the student was a victim of a "tipping."

In other words, a "club drug" had been slipped into their drink without 
their knowledge.

"This doesn't have to happen at a bar. It can happen at a backyard party, 
at a grad party," Delta police school liaison officer Const. Ian Pitcairn 
said during on the one-hour assembly.

The drugs most often used to incapacitate victims are Rohypnol and GHB 
(gamma hydroxybutyrate). Both are considered central nervous system 
depressants. Mixed with alcohol, they can seriously injure and even cause 
death.

Both drugs, at one time, were either sold by prescription or over the 
counter. Now they are made by illegal labs, said Vancouver police Const. 
Steven Thacker, and can have any sort of nasty ingredient in them. For 
instance, GHB's main ingredient is paint stripper, Thacker said.

On the street it's known by several nicknames, including G, Liquid X, 
Cherry Meth, Serenity, Georgia Home Boy, Easy Lay, Saltwater, Goop/Scoop 
and Grievous Bodily Harm.

"The people who give it to you don't care what's in it," Thacker, a drug 
expert, told the audience of Grade 12 students.

He added once the drug is taken, it's as if you've consumed three times the 
legal limit of alcohol.

Two young women recounted their experiences of being tipped by a predator 
in a bar and at a party. One of the women, a student nurse, was out 
celebrating the end of exams with her friends when an attractive and 
articulate man offered to buy them a drink. Her first mistake was to 
accept, she said.

"I had the tremors up to three weeks later," she recalled.

The other young woman wasn't so lucky. She was raped. Caroline got herself 
to the hospital the following day, where she had to undergo an examination. 
Months later she was still being tested for sexually transmitted diseases 
and AIDS.

"He was not a stranger," Caroline said.

"In the end, you can only protect yourself," she said, urging people not to 
stay victims but to report the incidents to police.

Delta police Const. Kim Campbell, who also investigates sex crimes, told 
students that even if they don't remember what happened, there are still 
ways for police to investigate that will lead to the suspect.

"Time is of the essence. You need to get to a hospital. You need to call 
police," Campbell said.

For those who think it couldn't happen to them, Campbell assured the 
students they have interviewed enough young people "to know that this does 
happen."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom