BEWARE DATE-RAPE DRUG

With Vancouver Police warning women that there's been an alarming
increase in suspected date-rape drug sexual assaults in recent weeks,
their local counterparts say it's a good, if unfortunate, time to
remind women to be careful.

While Abbotsford Police Const. Shinder Kirk says there's only been two
cases of suspected drink spiking in recent memory, he says women need
to be aware of the risk.

"There's always a concern that issues like this that face larger
centres will make their way into our community," Kirk said.

"We do want to warn young women to not leave drinks unattended, to not
take an open beverage from someone they don't know."

About 30 women are believed to have been sexually assaulted in
Vancouver since May, with most of the women waking up in their own
beds either naked or partly clothed but with no recollection of what
has occurred.

In one case, a woman woke up naked in an abandoned lot in South
Vancouver.

There have also been incidents where men have been
drugged.

About half of those cases have occurred in the last two weeks and
police believe the victims were primarily targeted while at downtown
bars and clubs.

James Moore, Canadian Alliance MP for Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port
Coquitlam, has called on the federal justice minister to classify
date-rape drugs as weapons in the criminal code, and is pushing for a
national education initiative.

"For too long nothing has been done to combat date-rape drugs," he
said.

"One can only hope that the recent rash of date-rape offences will
serve as a wake up call for the federal government and mobilize them
to act aggressively against this cowardly criminal activity."

Abbotsford-Langley (Canadian Alliance) MP Randy White says the spike
in date-rape drug incidents is indicative of a larger nation-wide drug
problem.

"The problem isn't just date-rape drugs. It's the proliferation of all
drugs," he said from Ottawa.

"Without a national drug strategy, Canada flounders around with these
problems."

Gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB), otherwise known as the date-rape drug,
can be tasteless, colourless and odourless, making it easy to slip
into drinks.

GHB is listed as a controlled substance under Section 3 of the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in Canada and is prohibited for
sale in this country.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, GHB can be
easily given in dangerous amounts, leading to overdoses, because most
of it is prepared in home laboratories with varying strengths.

Its fast-acting nature, which leaves victims unconscious or with
little memory of what has happened to them, also presents a problem
for police.

"Once ingested, the shelf life is very short," says Kirk, noting that
it's difficult to detect in a victim's blood stream after a very short
time.

Charito Gailling at the Fraser Valley Women's Resource Centre says she
hopes women will be extra vigilant following the rash of attacks in
Vancouver.

"We're sort of on alert already as women, but I'd say women should be
extra-cautious. It can be done so quickly and the effects can be
tragic," she said.

Gailling also says the trauma from such an assault can be particularly
difficult because victims may not know what has happened to them.

Laurie Parsons at the Mission Transition House says her workers
haven't seen a spike in such cases but agrees with Gailling that women
should be careful. But she also says it's important to keep in mind
that statistically women are much more frequently victims of violence
or assault by people they know in their own homes, rather than from
strangers.

"There are absolutely risks out there, but you're also in way more
danger in your own home," she says. "I think people often don't see
that because we hear more about stranger attacks."