Child's drug dose hints at growing problem, police say

Investigation into her father continues

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver toddler who became ill after drinking from her
father's drug-laced water bottle is doing well, police said Tuesday.

But investigations are continuing against her father, who has been
charged with criminal negligence, said Vancouver police department
spokeswoman Const. Anne Drennan.

The father's identity is protected by a provincial court-imposed
publication ban on all information relating to the case, including his
bail application. He did not respond to calls Tuesday to his home and
cellular phone.

He was arrested at his home Sunday after a 911 call made by his wife
brought paramedics and police. Police said his three-year-old daughter
drank water tainted with the date-rape drug GHB -- or
gamma-hydroxybutyric acid -- that he took home from a party Saturday
night and left on the kitchen counter.

The incident has focused attention on the use of mind-altering and
memory-erasing drugs, a problem police and victim support groups say
is growing.

"As more and more drugs become popular, problems like this will
increase," said Det.-Const. Scott Rintoul, the RCMP's drug awareness
coordinator. "And they could result in a tragedy."

Rintoul said use of drugs like GHB, methamphetamine and ketamine are
on the rise. Ketamine is an anesthetic used primarily by veterinarians
to knock out animals prior to surgery.

"We are seeing an increased use of ketamine in social settings,
anything from rave parties, nightclubs, concerts to house parties."

GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy, gives one an almost alcohol-like
high, he said, and is popular with people over 30, especially women
concerned with body image, because it has no calories. The effects
wear off after about four hours and the user does not suffer a
hangover. The drug was made illegal in Canada in 1998.

Ketamine, commonly found as a white powder soluble in water or
alcohol, can incite mild hallucinations and produce some euphoria. It
has been described by some people as having effects similar to a mild
dose of LSD, Rintoul said.

He also said society has a "very apathetic" attitude to recreational
or occasional drug use.

"We need the leadership in this country to look at this. We have to
meet this head-on and concentrate our efforts by enforcement. We need
to change the attitudes of young people that you don't have to consume
drugs to have fun."

Many people who have had their drinks spiked do not come forward, said
Jordana Deveau, administrative coordinator at UBC's sexual assault
support centre.

"Often it is because they don't know it happened, because these are
memory-erasing drugs. But another reason is that a lot of stigma and
shame is attached."

The centre has received reports this year from women and men about
their drinks being spiked on the UBC campus, which has several bars.

"It's definitely a big problem," Deveau said.

While GHB is often mentioned as a date-rape drug, Deveau said
household chemical products and prescription drugs such as sedatives
are also being used in drinks to make people vulnerable to sexual assault.

Det.-Const. Terry Wilson, of the New Westminster police domestic
violence response team, said women who fear they may have consumed a
spiked drink should go to hospital as soon as possible so a blood
sample can be obtained.

Unlike cannabis, which can be detected in the body four to six weeks
after being taken, all trace of GHB or other date-rape drugs are gone
within 72 hours, he said.