COASTERS TEST DRINKS FOR DRUGS

Date-Rape Danger Targeted

Sunday, December 29, 2002 - On any given weekend, thousands of young women
hit the bars, the dance clubs and the college party scene as they search
for fun up and down the Front Range.

Drink Safe Technologies has distributed more than 50 million beverage
coasters that the Florida company says can help detect the presence of
drugs in drinks. And while the vast majority return home with little more
than a hangover, some may wake up with no recollection of where they've
been, what they've done or what's been done to them.

While binge drinking is the most likely suspect behind party blackouts,
authorities in Denver say that scores of metro-area women are victimized
each year when they unwittingly accept drinks dosed with date-rape drugs
such as GHP, ketamine and rohypnol.

"We found that 10 percent of our 350 clients were victims of
drug-facilitated sexual assaults," said Marte McNally, director of
counseling with the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program in Denver.

These figures merely scratch the surface because only about 10 percent of
sexual assault victims report attacks, McNally says.

At least one company says it has devised a countermeasure that can help
detect the presence of predator drugs in drinks and perhaps deter those who
seek to drug women.

Drink Safe Technologies of Plantation, Fla., has distributed more than 50
million beverage coasters equipped with a simple chemical reaction test.

Drink-tester

While hardly foolproof, the inventors - a South Florida entrepreneur and a
New York dentist - say their product is a reliable way to test drinks.

"I knew someone who told me a horrific story," said Francisco Guerra, Drink
Safe's president, referring to a close friend who became a date-rape drug
victim in the fall of 2000. "She woke up in a seedy hotel, naked, confused
and sexually violated."

That story was enough to get Guerra started on his product. He teamed up
with Dr. Brian Glover of New York to create their coaster technology.

The two have distributed coasters to colleges and advertise the 40-cent
product on the Internet. The coasters should be available in drug and
grocery stores in the near future, Guerra said.

The coasters have raised concern among some in law enforcement and rape
prevention. Critics doubt that the product works as advertised.

"It borders on fraud," said Trinka Porrata, a retired Los Angeles Police
Department narcotics officer, who has researched the product. "There are 36
drugs used to rape women and the coasters only identify one or two. They
say if there is no color change, then the drink is safe. But that is a lie."

Porrata said that a clever predator could drop drugs into a drink after it
has been tested.

"If you look away from a drink, that gives someone plenty of time to squirt
in some GHB," she said.

Guerra agreed the coasters do not detect every kind of drug. But he said
the products do reveal the presence of GHB, ketamine and several other
chemicals he refused to name out of fear that predators would use them to
victimize women.

"We are not saying that this is an end-all," Guerra said of the coasters.
"This is a tool and it must be utilized properly."

Guerra said the coaster works remarkably well.

"It stands on its own," he said.

The current coasters do not test well with all drinks. A disclaimer warns
that the coasters are not to be used to test any milk products or beverages
that contain milk product, crme or oily liquors.

"I am the first to say the (present) coasters are limited," Guerra said.
"We still have research to do. But beside from telling people to watch
their drinks, what else is being done about this crime?"

The coasters have shown promise in South Florida, said Sgt. John Liguori,
an undercover narcotics detective with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

"We have tested them with some GHB that we have seized and they tested
accurately," Liguori said. "We have yet to receive a false positive."

Set for spring break

Fort Lauderdale police plan to use the coasters as an educational tool when
hordes of young revelers come to town for spring break.

"We have demonstrated the coasters at community workshops and use them as
an awareness tool," Liguori said. "We do not say this is a foolproof test.
But we think if we can demonstrate why we have them, we can give citizens a
reason to become educated on these drugs."

The coasters have served a similar educational purpose at the University of
Miami.

"We have used them during our Alcohol Awareness Week," said Carolyn
Waszkiewicz, a graduate assistant with the school's Center for Alcohol and
Drug Education. "We held a house party and dropped Skittles into sodas to
show how easily one can be drugged."

Scores of students have taken the coasters home with them, she said.

"I think it is a great idea," Waszkiewicz said. "If nothing else, it makes
students aware of what could go on and what could happen."

Still, authorities say the best way to avoid date-rape drugs is to party
with friends and watch one another's back.

"Girls should never go out drinking alone," said Pam Russell, a
spokesperson for the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. "Friends
should notice if friends begin to lose it after having a drink. If that
happens, they should all get out of there."

Law enforcement officials in Denver and across the nation admit that it is
extremely difficult to prosecute a date-rape drug case. For starters, the
victim often has no clear idea what happened. In addition, most date-rape
drugs are out of the victim's system by the time she wakes up and realizes
something bad has occurred.

Law enforcement officials have called the use of date-rape drugs "a perfect
crime."

While many experts in the field of rape prevention say the coasters are
great in theory, one bar patron says the product isn't very practical.

"The idea is good, but it would be kind of problematic to do it with every
drink," said Carmen Miller, a bartender at The Church nightclub in Denver.
"You'd look kind of retarded standing a the bar doing this (test). You'd
look like a paranoid freak."

"People will think you are a psycho," added Stephanie Beery, 23 of Aurora,
when asked about testing her bar drinks. "When people buy you drinks, you
go to the bar with them and watch it handed to you."

Jason Parr, 28 of Denver, said he would not be offended if a woman tested a
drink he had offered.

"A precautionary method such as this is good," he said during an interview
inside The Church. "It's better to be safe than stupid."