Drunk or drugged?
Most ADF personnel are of an age where they are most likely to have their drink spiked men included. Leesha Furse tells you what to look out for when you are socialising.

Some drugs used to spike drinks have no colour, taste or smell.

MANY of us will enjoy a beverage or two when we’re out celebrating the end of the year – but how will you tell the difference between too much alcohol and a spiked drink?

An educated guess is the best you can probably do, but there’s plenty you can do to avoid having to guess in the first place.

Signs of spiking

Unless you have seen someone put a pill, powder or liquid in your drink, or had blood and urine tests that return positive results, it is difficult to know for certain whether a drink has been spiked – some drugs used to spike drinks have no colour, taste or smell.

The effects on the body of consuming a spiked drink can include dizziness, nausea and vomiting, reduced coordination, loss of balance and loss of consciousness – similar effects to too much alcohol.

Some people who have had their drink spiked also have reported being unable to move or communicate properly at the time and being confused about what happened afterwards. The effects of drink spiking can sometimes last for several hours and victims may not remember what happened when the drug wears off. Drugs can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol and there is a risk that these combinations could even result in death.

The likely victims

Anyone could have their drink spiked, although the data from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s recent report on drink spiking suggests the majority of ADF personnel are at an age where they are more likely to be victims. The Institute’s findings included that:

The Institute estimated that between 3000 and 4000 suspected incidents of drink spiking occurred in Australia from July 2002 to June 2003. About one-third of these incidents involved sexual assault.

Drugs of choice

The drink most commonly spiked is an alcoholic one, but spiking of soft drinks, coffee, tea and hot chocolate has also been reported.

For this reason, two-thirds of drink spiking incidents occur in licensed premises, but it can happen at private parties or – just as likely for a sexual assault victim – at their or the offender’s home.

Although drugs such as Rohypnol are sometimes used for spiking, alcohol is the most commonly used drug to facilitate sexual assault.

This happens when alcohol is added to a non-alcoholic drink, or when an alcoholic drink has shots of spirits added without the person requesting it.

Minimise risk

There is no “typical” incident of drink spiking, the Institute’s report says, but you can be more aware of it happening by adopting these tactics:

Where to seek help