How to Know if Your Drink Has Been Spiked?

Over the weekend, I had dinner and drinks with a bunch of friends. One of my friends told me that in her younger days, her drink was spiked by her friend. It was during a New-Year party and her friend was so overjoyed that he started drizzling white powder in everyone’s drink. She covered her drink but a pinch of powder got in. This resulted in her mind being distorted and she could not sleep for the next 3 days.

To prevent such predicament from occurring to other individuals, please always watch your drink while the bartenders prepare it and if you feel there is something funny about the drink, refrain from having it as it may be spiked.

This article aims to highlight further on drink spiking and how to manage it.

1. What exactly is drink spiking?

Drink spiking is basically putting alcohol and drugs into someone’s drink without their knowledge. The intention behind this action is usually to rob, rape or to take advantage of an individual.

2. Who is at higher risk of drink spiking?

Women are at higher risk of drink spiking. Rohypnol is a drug frequently used to spike drinks and has resulted in many date rapes.

3. How do you know if you drink is spiked?

There are some common signs of your drink being spiked however many times, there may be no noticeable differences in the drinks.

Hence, it’s always best to be accompanied by someone when you go to a pub or bar since most drink spikes happen over there.

Drink spiking can include slipping in alcohol into a non-alcoholic drink, adding in extra alcohol into an alcoholic drink and adding prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines, amphetamines or GHB – also called liquid ecstasy) into an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.

Symptoms of drink spiking depend on many factors such as:

• substance used and dose administered
• size and weight of individual
• how much alcohol one has already consumed

Drink spiking symptoms may include:

•feeling drunk, woozy or drowsy
•mental confusion
•speech difficulties (such as slurring)
•memory loss
•loss of inhibitions
•nausea and vomiting
•breathing problems
•muscle spasms or seizures
•loss of consciousness
•an unusually long hangover
•a severe hangover when you had little or no alcohol to drink.

4. What to do if you drink has been spiked?

•Get help from a friend you trust, a relative or a senior member of staff if you are in a club or pub.
•Go to a place of safety as soon as possible; but only go home with someone you totally trust. If you are with people you do not know, contact a trusted friend or relative to come and take you home and look after you.
•If you start to feel very sleepy, vomit or have hallucinations, you should visit a doctor or an emergency department.

Once you are in safe hands, lodge a police report as drink spiking is a crime. The police may take a sample of blood and urine to determine the type of drugs used. It is important to be tested as soon as possible if one thinks their drink was spiked as most drugs leave the body within 12 – 72 hours.

Reference:
1. Drink Spiking. NHS Sunniside Surgery.