Mind Your Drink

BY the time Stacey became unconscious she was at home and her partner called the ambulance.

At the local hospital they ran tests and confirmed she had been drugged with rohypnol.

Last Friday night Stacey McNamara was the designated driver and was out with her partner and friends at the Belmore Hotel in Scone.

She had one beer at the beginning of the night, then drank soft drink for the rest of the night.

She remembers walking out of the gates of the pub to drive her friends home and then waking up in the Scott Memorial Hospital to be told that she had been drugged.

Even though Stacey was taken care of by her partner the doctor told her the outcome could still have been devastating.

“The doctor told me that the drug can lead to death so it’s not just the fact that you might be assaulted or you might be harmed while you are under the influence it’s the gruesome fact that you might not come out of it,” said Ms McNamara.

“I’m from Scone, I work in Scone and I knew many people that were there, but I don’t know who could have done this,” she said.

“The only time I was away from my drink was when I was pulled out onto the dance floor and I’d fight my way back, but I’ve googled it and it only takes five seconds for someone to look away and it can be spiked,” she said.

“And it wasn’t just me another girl that night said she had been drugged as well,” said Stacey.

Stacey said her partner and friends filled in the blanks for her that night.

They told her she had been complaining of a migraine when she was driving them home and when she stopped to drop off some friends she vomited, but it was not unusual for her to be sick when she had a migraine, it wasn’t until she was at home and unresponsive that her partner realised something more was wrong.

“Just really take care of yourself and your friends when you are out,” said Stacey.

“I am really cautious and I wasn’t even drinking, but I still paid the price,” she said.

“I did call police and they said they called the pub to find out if there was any CCTV footage, but there was none,” said Stacey McNamara.

Dr Tammy Kimpton from Scone Medical Practice said the signs and symptoms of someone who has had their drink spiked is very broad, but urges if you believe you have been drugged to get to hospital.

“If someone is getting drunk faster than expected, or getting drunk when they have not been drinking, becoming confused, losing memory, vomiting, they can all be symptoms; there is an enormous spectrum of what drugs can be used to spike a drink so it makes it difficult to give advice,” said Dr Kimpton.

“The bottom line is if you are worried your drink may have been spiked it is worth going to hospital,” she said.

“A drug screen can be done and often the police want those,” she said.

“But try and do everything you can do to avoid it, keep hold of your drink and avoid letting anyone else have contact with your drink and look out for your friends,” Dr Tammy Kimpton said.

Andrew Kelaher, licensee at the Belmore Hotel said he has operated hotels in Sydney for more than 20 years and unfortunately drink spiking happens everywhere even in Scone.

“When I was in Sydney security noticed a girl being taken out of the hotel who was incoherent and they intervened and took care of her and later found her drink had been spiked,” said Mr Kelaher.

“On our busy nights at the Belmore we always have two security here so that our patrons and staff feel safe and they do watch out for people,” he said.

“If people feel their drink may have been spiked go straight to security or the bar staff who can take care of you and if you suspect someone may have slipped something in someone’s drink don’t try and handle it yourself tell security who can deal with it,” he said.

“We do have CCTV, but in a busy hotel at night it is impossible for the cameras pick up everything and often the footage is not even that useful in court, so it really comes back to people watching out for each other,” said Andrew Kelaher.

Ian Campbell, owner of the Royal Hotel said it can happen at any venue and people should always be vigilant.

“Don’t leave your drink unattended if they are going to the toilet, finish your drink before you go or leave it with a friend that you trust,” said Mr Campbell.

“I had an incident a few years ago where someone thought their drink could have been spiked,” he said.

“It seems to be fairly rife in the younger crowd and it sort of goes through stages, we attract more of the 30 plus so we don’t see as much of it,” he said.

“But it comes back to, you have to watch out for yourself and it could be someone in your group doing it, so you just have to be really vigilant when you are out,” Ian Campbell said.

While drink spiking may be more common in a younger demographic a woman who did not wish to be named, warns it can happen to anyone and in her case it was someone in her group of friends.

“I’m a mum, I have kids and I thought this happens to young people, but I am cleverer than that, but this happens to a lot of sensible, smart, older people too,” she said.

“I was away with another mum on the coast and we were just in an RSL Club, it was nowhere rowdy.

“I was there for an hour or so before we left, because I wasn’t feeling very well so we went back to the friend’s house we were staying at.

“I felt really, really tired and I went straight to sleep and a person who I now realise had drugged me was also staying at this friend’s house and came into the room and tried to do some horrific things and I was unable to move.

“I could not move my arms, my legs, my whole body was just numbed and even staying conscious was a really big effort and I didn’t really realise what was going on.

“My friend who was with me was also drugged, we have known each other for years, we are like sisters and we shared a bed that night and he did the same thing to both of us and I remember at one stage she was squeezing my feet trying to wake me up but we couldn’t speak we just couldn’t move or do anything.

“It affected us for about 8 hours and I just knew we had to get to the car and get away.

“It wasn’t until 24 hours later when I came out of this state that I realised something had happened and that’s when I went to the hospital and they found we had been drugged with an anti-psychotic drug.

“It wasn’t someone I personally knew, but it was a friend of the group we were with and it can happen to absolutely anyone.

“If they drop a tablet in a drink that is fizzy, which most of them are you won’t even see the tablet in the drink,” she said.

Chief Inspector Guy Guiana said local police want to be made aware of any incidents of drink spiking.

“…while police regularly conduct business and licensing inspections, it’s absolutely vital that we are made aware of any incidents so that we can investigate it and do everything in our power to track down the person responsible,” said Chief Inspector Guiana.

“If you or one of your friends does have your drink spiked, please seek urgent medical treatment and made sure you tell police as soon as possible so any available evidence can be obtained,” he said.

“We advise against posts on social media as they may actually hinder a potential investigation by alerting offenders,” Guy Guiana said.

Key advice:

• Hold your own drink and don’t let anyone else come in contact with it;
• Report any suspect behaviour to security immediately;
• If you suspect your drink has been spiked:
  • alert someone you trust to take care of you;
  • inform bar staff or security immediately;
  • go to the local hospital for tests and treatment, and
  • report the matter to local police for further investigation and request a report number.