MOMS WARNS TO WATCH DRINKS AFTER GIRL DRUGGED

A 20-year-old Maple Ridge woman spent Saturday night in hospital
after allegedly inadvertently ingesting drugs while out partying with friends.

The woman's mother, who didn't want to be named, contacted the TIMES
in effort to warn other women about the dangers facing them in local
nightclubs.

In this situation, the 20-year-old allegedly had something slipped
into her drink after leaving it unguarded for "just a brief moment,"
her mother said.

Thankfully, said her mom, her friends and her boyfriend noticed
something was amiss and got the girl home.

When she got home, however, it was apparent medical intervention was required.

The young woman began hallucinating, and was rushed to hospital,
where she began going into convulsions, her mom said.

"She was really lucky that she was with friends and that the bulk of
her reaction took place at the hospital," she said.

Doctors were able to stabilize her, but she stayed in hospital for
observation overnight.

"This is a real hard-knock lesson to learn ... it doesn't matter how
careful we are, something can happen," her mom said.

Unfortunately, said Cpl. Scott Rintoul of the provincial RCMP drug
awareness initiative, both women and men need to be on alert when
they're out partying, as drugging is "unfortunately on the rise."

"We have these newer types of drugs that are quite prevalent today," he said.

Gone is Rohypnol, a sleeping medication that has been banned in
Canada because of its ability to render users unconscious. Rohypnol
has been replaced by GHB and ketamine, two drugs that are used both
recreationally as well as in date-rape situations for their abilities
to render users unresponsive.

While Rintoul does suggest people are more educated about the risks,
that doesn't seem to be having an impact on how many people are victimized.

"More people are reporting it, but at the same time more people are
becoming victimized," he explained, and it's not all women.

"Both men and women are equally vulnerable. Statistically, more
females are assaulted sexually than males, but there's no doubt men
have to be aware."

From an RCMP perspective, investigating these crimes is about as
frustrating as it gets.

"What's really frustrating is that when it comes to sex assaults
themselves, the national average for reporting is something like 10
per cent. In B.C. I think we're below that."

There are a lot of victims out there, he said, who choose not to
report, and in doing so allow the offenders to get away with the
crime over and over again.

"We have sexual offenders who are perhaps repeat offenders," Rintoul explained.

As for the weekend case at Roosters, Ridge Meadows RCMP is investigating.

And as for the mother of the young woman who was targeted, she wants
to remind others to be extremely cautious.

And she doesn't blame the bar owners for the trouble.

"It's not the bar's fault. They can't take care of everyone," she said.

It ends up being up to individual patrons, who perhaps become less
careful as the night wears on.

"(My daughter) should not have left her drink unattended ... after
having a couple of drinks, we begin to make some bad choices."