DATE RAPE DRUG DETECTOR DOUBTS RAISED

Women Warned Product Is No 'Silver Bullet'

Women's groups are warning that a new product that turns dark blue
when dipped in a drink spiked with two of the latest club drugs gives
users a false sense of security about date rape.

Up to 20 drugstores in Calgary are selling the "drink safe test card"
that claims to positively detect if either GHB or ketamine have been
dropped in a drink.

"It's like telling women not to wear short skirts or walk down certain
streets," said Danielle Aubry, executive director of Calgary
Communities Against Sexual Abuse.

"It's a dangerous idea to put in people's minds that they will be safe
if they use it and it seemingly puts the responsibility on women not
to get raped."

But the man who brought the product to Calgary says while the test,
about the size of a business card, only detects two drugs, it is still
a useful tool.

"It isn't a silver bullet, it's one line of defence that is a very
viable tool," said Lance Tetlock, president of Drink Safe Canada.

"These are the most popular date rape drugs out there right now -- in
a club setting in Calgary, these are the two drugs you'll find."

The effects of ketamine, also known as Special K, are numbness and
loss of muscle control, as well as hallucinations and disconnection.
People on the drug are said to "zone out."

GHB is said to cause a person to lose all inhibitions and often
results in a four-to five-hour memory loss.

Tetlock says there has been a shift away from pharmaceutical date rape
drugs such as Rohypnol to uncontrolled and often homemade drugs.

After seeing the product on the Oprah Winfrey show last year, Tetlock
worked with its Florida-based makers to bring it to Canada.

"We tell everyone to read the instructions on the card and to be aware
that it only works for two types of drugs," Tetlock added.

Each card costs $2.99 and can conduct two tests, but it doesn't work
well with oily liqueur drinks or milky drinks.

Most Calgary nightclub goers say while the card could be useful,
they're already taking steps to protect themselves from date rape drugs.

"I normally buy bottled drinks," said Jessica Debellis, 22, who was
enjoying an evening at the Whiskey Nightclub Thursday. "If I leave my
drink on a table, I won't pick it up again."

Debellis says her non-trusting behaviour stems from an incident that
saw a friend drugged at a house party. The woman became unconscious
and woke up the next day, unable to explain what had happened the
previous night.

Another friend, Shandi Aadland, 21, would like to see the cards
distributed through vending machines in club restrooms.

"I see people all the time who leave their drink behind. How do you
know that somebody's not going to slip something inside your drink?"
she said.

Kim Rourke, 23, says she rarely goes to bars, but when she does she
takes a number of precautions, like ensuring she knows who's made her
drink.

"I'm not too worried. I usually go out with people I know, so it's not
a problem," said Rourke.

Rourke, speaking outside a cluster of bars along 10th

Avenue S.W., says she doesn't know anyone who's been affected by date
rape drugs. But her friend Trish Bain interrupts the conversation,
telling her a friend once became violently ill after consuming a
single drink.

Rourke's brother, Shane Rourke, says while most people of his
generation are aware there is a problem with date rape drugs, he'd
like to see bar goers -- especially women -- carry the cards with them.

Workers at Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse say they receive
between two and four complaints of drug date rape a month.

"Only about six per cent of men and women report drug date rape and
the reality is most people are sexually assaulted by people they
know," said Aubry.