WOMEN INCREASINGLY AWARE OF POTENTIAL RISKS

It only takes a minute. A glass left on a table while someone is
dancing or the distraction of a conversation can give an opening for a
drink to be doctored.

Victoria police Const. Rick Anthony said date-rape drugs have shown up
at a variety of locations.

"It can happen anywhere that there's drinking," he
said.

Everyone should be aware of the potential for someone to walk past a
glass and drop something in it, Anthony said.

"It's not a mad chemist with test tubes. It's a matter of a few
drops."

It's difficult to investigate because date-rape drugs quickly
dissipate in the body, witnesses and the victim have often had drinks
at several places and, frequently, the victim has little or no memory
of what happened, Anthony said.

But he wants to encourage possible victims to contact
police.

"The only way you can help yourself and other people is to report it.
Even if it doesn't go anywhere, at least we have a copy of the report
and we may see a pattern established," he said.

Ari Bolden, security manager at Legends Nightclub at the Strathcona
Hotel, said the number of date rape drug incidents at the club has
dropped dramatically over the last five years.

"The awareness for women has gone up. When I'm working the door I have
women asking me to watch their drink. Women won't leave a drink on the
table and they won't have strangers buy them a drink out of the blue,"
he said.

However, Bolden is seeing more people self-administering drugs such as
GHB and Ketamine, also known as Special K.

"There are kids who really want to get wasted and high, so it's not
only the 10 drinks, they also want the buzz from drugs," he said.

Symptoms of Special K can be alarming when someone gets the dose
wrong, he said.

"They go into something called the K-hole. They become catatonic and
freeze in place."

Bolden is also seeing increased use of cocaine and ecstasy among the
19/20 year olds, with characteristic behaviours such as teeth grinding
and unco-ordinated movements.

"The majority of incidents now are people mixing alcohol and drugs on
their own, rather than someone else giving them date rape drugs," he
said.