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Free drugs?
- 16 Jan 2007 19:08
Almost every one knows of someone who claims to of have their drink spiked. It is a worrying and disconcerting experience. But it is also one that begs all kinds of questions. Before I get started I should point out that I'm not saying that drink spiking doesn't happen, I'm just saying that when somebody claims to of had their drink spiked they are effectively asking for a moral blank cheque to be written for their actions the night before, which gives them a strong motive to delude themselves and other people.
My first and foremost questions are: Who in their right mind is going to; A: go to the effort of finding Rohypnol (correct spelling suggestions welcome), B: effectively declare themselves a rapist to the stranger who is selling them this very rare and probably expensive drug, C: go to a club to find an already drunk girl who they think that one night with is worth risking a life sentence for and a life time on the sex offenders register and then D: risk a severe and merciless beating from anyone who discovers them, in order to stealthily give away this drug for free?
A recent press release from the Police has confirmed that, according to a 12 month study, Rohypnol and GHB are almost never present drink spiking cases. This confirms what I have always suspected. But the Police seem to have come to an even more improbable and bizarre conclusion from their study; that Cocaine and Cannabis are the most common narcotics used for the purposes of drink spiking (accounting for 48% of recorded cases). I would like to know how 'drink spiking' of this nature is done. Do they have liquid THC that they pour into people's drinks? Or do they make pre rolled 'wacky' cigarettes before they enter the club and only target people who they know not to have any sense of smell? As for the Cocaine: how exactly does this work? Do they put it in the salt shaker before they get the Tequilas in, or do they put it the cuff of a white shirt before asking their victim to smell their new perfume?
There was criticism of the above police study but this too was made without plausible grounds. The critics of the police study claim that the majority of drink cases do not involve drugs abut alcohol. This is a step towards rationality but once again the most fundamental of questions are not answered. Last time I checked, strong alcoholic drinks have a strong taste. I would, for example, notice if a shot of vodka had been put in my pint of larger. I can also taste the difference between a double and a single.
Of all the drink spiking incidents I can recall hearing about anecdotally, I can think of maybe one or two, at a push, which I find convincing. In the vast majority of cases, the girl was very drunk already, the sort of person who would be unwilling to take responsibility for her actions on the night in question and unwilling to alert the proper authorities of the heinous act that she claimed had taken place on the day after.
A while back I thought I had been spiked in a pub in Plymouth. I was very drunk already and minesweeping. After downing something alcoholic in Coke that had been left by someone else, I became short of breath, my face burned painfully, I became incoherent and was violently sick. The next day, I did the same think that anyone would do if they genuinely believed their drink had been spiked; I went back to the establishment and told the manager. He assured me that the cameras would be checked and I changed my mind about the drink spiking issue believing my experience to have proved that drink spiking was happening on the scale that many professed.
However, a few weeks later after a few pints in another pub, the barman gave me a Brandy and Coke, which I drank immediately and watched him make. A few minutes later I was short of breath, my face was burning and I was suddenly felt dizzy and drunk. It turned out that I had an allergy to Brandy.
If you genuinely think that you have had your drink spiked, then you should go back to the pub or club the next day and ask them to check their security cameras. If you think an assault has taken place then you should go to the police immediately. But if you have gone out and drunk too much and made a fool of yourself then apologise where necessary or laugh it off, but please don't contribute to the drink spiking hysteria. Let the rest of us have a drink in peace. Cheers.
Pete Swan