RAPE DRUG SUSPECTED IN COLLAPSE

Police will interview a 19-year-old Hamilton woman this week who may
have been slipped a date-rape drug in a Hess Village bar early
yesterday. The unidentified woman was taken to McMaster Hospital at
2:30 a.m. after she told friends she was drugged, then collapsed
unconscious at the Funky Munky.

She was not assaulted, police said, and was released yesterday with
apparently no lasting effects.

Detective Gary Ostofi of the Hamilton-Wentworth police said medical
staff at the hospital suspect the woman ingested Special K (ketamine
hydrochloride), a powerful tranquilizer often called a "rape drug."
Test results are expected today, he added.

Ostofi said the woman, who spent most of the night at the bar, was
approached by a man around closing time. They danced together and the
man asked her to go home with him.

She refused. Minutes later, she told friends she felt drugged. She
passed out and her friends called an ambulance.

Ostofi said the man that police suspect of spiking the woman's drink is
a regular patron at the bar and won't be hard to find.

Ketamine -- a white, powdery substance that can be taken in pills or
injected -- interferes with brain functions and can produce
hallucinations. Although it has been mixed with other drugs for use as
a human anesthetic, it is more commonly used by veterinarians to sedate
cats and monkeys.

Detective Kevin Stanley of the regional police drug squad said it's
"very rare" for police to seize Special K and then lay charges. Most
recently, ketamine-related charges were laid in December 1998 when a
drug-tainted vial was found at another nightclub, he said. Trafficking
charges were laid when the vial was sold to an undercover officer.

Ketamine is hard for police to control because it falls under the Food
and Drug Act and is not on the list of controlled substances, Stanley
said. Possession only becomes a crime when there is an intention to
traffic in tranquilizers.

In higher doses (0.5 grams), ketamine produces a "K-hole" or a feeling
of mind-body separation. The resulting stupor or unconsciousness makes
victims vulnerable to rape. It leaves them feeling confused, with gaps
in their short-term memory.

And that worries Diane Sharp, a counsellor with the Sexual Assault
Centre Hamilton and Area.

"There has been an increase" in drug-induced sexual assaults, she said.
Her centre, which counsels about 3,000 people annually, is never
without a case of suspected drugging.

"But," Sharp said, "the idea of men intoxicating women for sex is not
new. Only the drugs are new."

She notes that it's hard to find statistics to reflect the increase for
a number of reasons:

Sexual assaults are generally under-reported; drug-induced haziness can
make women less sure of their facts; and testing for rape drugs must be
done within 12 hours of ingestion.

Halton region was so concerned about drug-related sexual assaults a
year ago that a joint committee was formed to promote awareness.

Detective Constable Chris Lawson, a committee member with the Halton
police sexual assault unit, has charged two men with drugging and
sexually assaulting women since early 1999.

Research on sexual assault in Canada reveals that in 1999, alcohol was
a factor in 75 per cent of all sexual assaults. And the use of other
drugs such as Special K, roofies (Rohypnol) and GHB (gamma-
hydroxybutyrate) had increased over the previous year.

As a result, police warn women at bars to keep a close eye on their
drinks: Don't leave them unattended, nominate a "table-sitter," and
replace a drink if there is any doubt.