Y2K RAPE DRUG ALERT

Women Told To Watch Drinks At New Year Bashes

Women who go to bars and raves to celebrate the millennium should beware of
date rapists, Ontario deputy chief coroner Jim Cairns warns.

Criminals have added liquid Ecstasy to their arsenal of date-rape drugs,
which already includes GHB, Halcion and Rohypnol, or "Roofies," he said.

"The advice to females is if they're going to a bar and someone is buying
them a drink, don't let him go up and buy it," Cairns said. "Go up and get
it yourself. Don't leave your drink unattended."

A recent investigation at the Centre of Forensic Sciences found a rape
victim's drink had been spiked with Ecstasy.

"The drug causes you to fall asleep and have amnesia afterward and, in that
time, you have been date raped and don't know about it," Cairns said.

Liberal deputy leader Sandra Pupatello, who has researched rave parties and
Ecstasy, said the young people who take the drug are extremely vulnerable.
At one club, she saw a 15-year-old girl who was "completely stoned. All we
could think of was what kind of danger this young woman was going to be in."

Toronto Police drug squad Det. Rick Chase said he agrees fully with Cairns
that women must be cautious.

"With all the partying that's going on, everybody should have that little
bit of extra awareness of their surroundings and who they're with," said
Chase.

His advice is don't take pre-mixed drinks from strangers. And never "leave
your drink unattended," said the veteran cop.

"It's become a problem of the '90s where males and females can't even go
out for a drink without keeping an eye on their drinks," said Chase.

And he said that with it being New Year's party time, everyone should raise
their consciousness about the issue.

"Just be on the lookout for something out of the ordinary," said Chase.

"Downtown you're going to be partying with thousands of people, so heads
up," he said. "You're in the big city now."

He said GHB has a "salty taste to it," but it's otherwise colourless and
odourless.

With the other date-rape substances, "you may detect a bit of a different
taste to the actual drink itself."

Since September, 20 to 25 men have been arrested by Chase's downtown drug
squad colleagues alone for distributing Ecstasy and GHB.