NIGHTCLUB NAPKINS OFFER WORDS OF WISDOM ON CLUB DRUGS

TAMPA -- The Florida Department of Health hopes that as nightclub patrons
raise a glass this holiday season, a simple cocktail napkin will raise
their awareness.

As part of the agency's Sexual Violence Prevention Program, 119 nightclubs
statewide plan to hand out cocktail napkins that caution women to beware of
someone slipping dangerous drugs into their drinks. The Health Department
said Thursday it is distributing 1 million educational cocktail napkins to
nightclubs in 14 cities, including Tampa.

Printed on the napkins is this caution: "Watch your drink, stay safe from
club drugs." The napkins include a toll-free number and a Web address for
the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence.

This is the third year club owners have participated in the campaign, which
is aimed at warning patrons against so-called predator drugs, including
gamma hydroxybutyrate, known as GHB; rohypnol, known as roofies; and
ketamine, also called Special K. The drugs can sedate victims and blur
memory, making them vulnerable to sexual attack.

About 132,000 napkins were sent to 15 clubs in the Tampa Bay area. Last
year, 2,034 forcible sexual offenses were reported in Hillsborough and
Pinellas counties, said Lindsay Hodges, spokeswoman for the Department of
Health.

At the Green Iguana nightclub in Ybor City, a shipment of 1,000 napkins
should last through New Year's Eve, said manager Alan Fosco.