Lengthy article rbbm
Jan 25 2020
By Rosa Saba
Her birthday ended at the hospital. Drink tampering is in the spotlight thanks to her viral video | The Star
''Josée Saulnier arrived in Halifax on Jan. 17 with a few of her classmates, ready to celebrate two big life milestones.
The tourism management student was turning 20, and is a few months away from graduating. She wanted one big night out before the next chapter of her life began, and she had travelled to the big city from the small town where she was studying to have a memorable evening with her friends.
Instead, Saulnier ended up in the hospital in the early hours of Jan. 18, her muscles numbed and vision blurred by a mystery drug she believes was slipped into her drink.
After only a few drinks, Saulnier said, she suddenly started throwing up. Her friends called a cab to take them back to their Airbnb. When they arrived, Saulnier said they noticed she had “lost control” of her body, and decided to call 911. An ambulance took her to the hospital.
“Thank God my friends were with me,” she said''
''It’s difficult to know how many people across Canada are covertly drugged, but medical experts say cases like Saulnier’s are probably more common than reported. Many never report the incident, or if they do, nothing comes of it. This is because doctors say so-called “date-rape” drugs are difficult to detect and may not show up on hospital tests.''
''Dr. Mark Yarema, a toxicology expert with Alberta Health Services, said that even if victims do get tested at the hospital, results often aren’t conclusive. He said there’s very little data available on the prevalence of drink spiking for multiple reasons.
First, the most well-known of these so-called “date-rape” drugs, rohypnol (roofies) and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), disappear from the system in a matter of hours, which he said makes them hard to detect in a urine test. They also have an amnesiac effect, meaning victims often black out entirely and can’t remember what happened.''
Jan 25 2020
By Rosa Saba
Her birthday ended at the hospital. Drink tampering is in the spotlight thanks to her viral video | The Star
''Josée Saulnier arrived in Halifax on Jan. 17 with a few of her classmates, ready to celebrate two big life milestones.
The tourism management student was turning 20, and is a few months away from graduating. She wanted one big night out before the next chapter of her life began, and she had travelled to the big city from the small town where she was studying to have a memorable evening with her friends.
Instead, Saulnier ended up in the hospital in the early hours of Jan. 18, her muscles numbed and vision blurred by a mystery drug she believes was slipped into her drink.
After only a few drinks, Saulnier said, she suddenly started throwing up. Her friends called a cab to take them back to their Airbnb. When they arrived, Saulnier said they noticed she had “lost control” of her body, and decided to call 911. An ambulance took her to the hospital.
“Thank God my friends were with me,” she said''
''It’s difficult to know how many people across Canada are covertly drugged, but medical experts say cases like Saulnier’s are probably more common than reported. Many never report the incident, or if they do, nothing comes of it. This is because doctors say so-called “date-rape” drugs are difficult to detect and may not show up on hospital tests.''
''Dr. Mark Yarema, a toxicology expert with Alberta Health Services, said that even if victims do get tested at the hospital, results often aren’t conclusive. He said there’s very little data available on the prevalence of drink spiking for multiple reasons.
First, the most well-known of these so-called “date-rape” drugs, rohypnol (roofies) and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), disappear from the system in a matter of hours, which he said makes them hard to detect in a urine test. They also have an amnesiac effect, meaning victims often black out entirely and can’t remember what happened.''
