ON LOOKOUT FOR DATE-RAPE DRUGS

Bartenders Trained To Head Off Predators

If someone slips a roach into your bloody mary or dissolves a love drug
into your martini the next time you're at a bar, there may be someone close
by to help.

The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton is teaching bartenders and lounge
owners how to spot victims of date-rape drugs. Predators often slip the
drugs, with street names such as roach, love drug, beans, roofies or cat
valium, into the drinks of unsuspecting patrons in dance clubs and bars,
then take the victims home and assault them.

"The perpetrators are sexual predators and it's premeditated," said Tanis
Assenheimer, public educator and co-ordinator of the date-rape education
program.

"They go into the bars and it's easy for them to get away with it when
there are a lot of people around."

With bartenders involved, Assenheimer hopes that will no longer be the case.

"Awareness is the best defence," she said. "I don't want to cause a panic
or frenzy around this or put pressure on bartenders that they have to watch
every person in the bar to know if they are safe. All we are trying to do
is educate people that this is going on. Rape drugs are being used in nice
establishments in Edmonton."

While city police have made very few seizures of the so-called date-rape
drugs, Edmonton's drug unit confirms the drugs are present in Edmonton. And
recipes for some can be found on the Internet.

Assenheimer estimates she receives one call every month from victims of
date-rape drugs.

However, many people don't report incidents because they can't remember
details, describe the perpetrator or offer physical evidence. Most
perpetrators take time to put on a condom and clean the victim while he or
she is drugged unconscious.

More incidents are reported in places such as Jasper, a transient community
where drugs are easily available. One woman told Assenheimer she knew of 14
cases last year just during the summer.

Gareth Edwards, manager at Overtime Broiler and Taproom at 10304 111th St.,
was one of the first to have his staff educated about the drugs and their
effects.

"There's never a fight here, never anything that would warrant any
suspicion from us," Edwards said of his sports bar which has a dance floor
on weekends. "Still, it's good to be knowledgeable about it. If you are in
this industry and this is something that is going on, it's important for
everybody to be involved in this project."

He said he isn't aware of any date-rape incidents and wants to keep it that
way.

During the seminar, servers learn to keep an eye out for people who seem
intoxicated after only one or two beers. They watch for people fiddling
with drinks left on tables and alert their managers or the police. If they
suspect someone has been slipped a drug, they ask personal questions to
make sure people claiming to be friends truly are.

Most sexual predators are acquaintances who offer, as if in goodwill, to
drive the person home, Assenheimer said.

Edwards said it's sometimes tough for servers to ask personal questions of
their clients. And sometimes it's difficult to figure out if the person
really needs help or is just drunk and looking for a good time.

Assenheimer said it's unrealistic for servers to remember every drink and
every customer. "But sometimes they feel something just doesn't seem right
or they have that gut feeling," she said.

The Sexual Assault Centre has contacted about 50 establishments. And while
most have agreed to put up information posters, few have agreed to train
their staff.

"It could be they don't want people to get alarmed for no reason,"
Assenheimer suggested. "But it's bad for business if stuff like this
happens in your establishment because you don't want that to be your
reputation."

DATE RAPE DRUGS

- - Street name: GHB, liquid ecstasy.

Chemical name: gamma hydroxybutyrate.

Effects: Drowsiness, nausea, unconsciousness, seizures, severe respiratory
depression and coma. Can be fatal when mixed with alcohol.

Form: Available in liquid or powder and is usually odourless and tasteless,
save for a hint of salty flavour. Most street-level GHB is homemade.

Intended use: Performance enhancer for bodybuilders.

Street names: Special K, vitamin K, cat valium, easy lay.

- - Chemical name: Ketamine.

Effects: At higher doses can cause delirium, amnesia, impaired motor
function, and potentially fatal respiratory problems.

Form: Usually colourless, tasteless and odourless liquid or powder.

Intended use: Veterinary anesthetic

- - Chemical name: Rohypnol.

Effects: Feeling of intoxication, slurred speech, difficulty walking and
impaired judgment. Amnesia occurs until drug is metabolized.

Effects: Often felt within 10 minutes and can last up to eight hours.
Potentially fatal when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

Form: Small white tablets that can be ground up and dissolved in a drink.
In 1997, the manufacturers of rohypnol changed the pills' formulation so
liquids turn blue-green when the drug is added. The change of colour can be
difficult to detect in beer bottles or drinks such as red wine or caesars.

Intended use: Insomnia treatment.

Street names: Roofies, roach.

- - Street name: Ecstasy.

Chemical name: MDMA, or 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

Effects: Ecstasy is a mood elevator that produces a relaxed, euphoric
state. Sensations are enhanced and the user experiences heightened feelings
of empathy, emotional warmth and self-acceptance. In high doses, it can
cause a sharp increase in body temperature leading to muscle breakdown and
kidney and cardiovascular system failure.

Form: Tablets or capsules.

Intended use: Before it was made illegal in 1985, MDMA was used by
psychiatrists as a therapeutic tool.

Street names: Ecstasy, Adam, XTC, hug, beans, and love drug.

Tips for Club-Goers

- - Never leave your drink unattended while you go to the bathroom or step on
the dance floor.

- - Don't accept drinks from strangers.

- - Go with good friends and stick with each other.

For more information on the date-rape drug program, call the Sexual Assault
Centre of Edmonton at 423-4102.