Hi, it’s Shauna here to give you some information about alcohol and spiking
How can you go from happy hour to hang over so quickly?
Do any of this sound familiar to you?
Having a few drinks before you go out because you aren’t confident enough to walk into a place sober or on your own?
Downing a carryout before you go into a pub to ‘save money’ but then being too drunk to get in?
Discovering your friends got there before you and has started to drink so you drink shots to catch up?
Getting into buying rounds and you find you’ve four or five drinks in front of you at the one time?
That’s all before the shenanigans that can happen is you are drinking like being “really honest” i.e. insulting someone by telling someone “the truth” as you see it. All too often we get ourselves into handlings as a result of drinking too much.
Drink Spiking
Drink spiking is when that alcohol or drugs (illicit or prescription) have been added to your drink without your knowledge or approval which may affect how you act, or how you behave with other people. There are many reasons why someone might spike a drink, but the most common reasons are for amusement, or to carry out sexual assault, rape, or theft. Men also get their drinks spiked; it isn’t something which just happens to girls. All alcoholic and non alcoholic (Water, Fruit and fizzy drinks) can also be spiked; it isn’t just something which happens when you are drinking alcohol. When we think of drink spiking we often think of drugs, but the most common way people spike drinks is through adding excess alcohol to them, e.g. giving someone a double drink instead of a single measure.
Have you ever done any of the following?
- Left your drink to go and chat to people, go to the toilet or dance?
- Left your drink down and couldn’t remember which drink was yours, so you just take one that’s on the table that smells/ tastes like the one you were drinking
- Drank left over drinks at the end of the night
- Drank someone else’s drink
- Accepted a drink from someone you don’t know or don’t trust
If you have done any of the above…you are at risk of spiking.
How can I avoid getting my drink spiked?
- Do not share or exchange drinks with others.
- Never drink something left by someone else
- Don’t leave your drink to go to the toilet/ dance/ chat to someone/ go out for a cigeratte, bring your drink with you.
- Never accept a drink from anyone you do not completely trust.
- If you begin to feel drunk after only one or two drinks, seek help from a trusted friend or a bouncer.
- Always drink from a bottle - it is more difficult to drop a drug into a bottle than it is to drop a drug into a glass