After police departments reported an “alarming increase” in date rape drug incidents throughout the area, Massachusetts legislators wish to give out drink spiking check kits to bars, eating places, and nightclubs.
Law enforcement within the Boston-area has been sounding the alarm about quite a few folks reporting they had been roofied at native bars. Police have warned folks to make use of the buddy system, cowl their drinks, and don’t go away their drinks unattended.
“Yet reports of these incidents persist, over and over again,” State Sen. Paul Feeney mentioned from the State House throughout the funds debate.
“We’ve seen an alarming increase in drink spiking incidents at bars, nightclubs, concert venues and even house parties across the Commonwealth,” mentioned Feeney, a Democrat from Foxboro.
He proposed a drink spiking prevention and consciousness modification referred to as “Drink Spiking Tests Bulk Purchase Program and Awareness Campaign,” and the modification handed the Senate this week.
The Senate modification authorizes the majority buy of drink spiking check kits — which might be distributed to bars, eating places, and nightlife institutions throughout the state.
“Get them out to venues, get them out to people that are going out to bars and restaurants, get them out to law enforcement, and hopefully make a difference,” Feeney mentioned.
“We need to invest, and make sure that the resources are there for patrons, for venues and for our constituents,” he mentioned, “For servers and for anybody that’s in this space where peoples’ lives are in jeopardy.”
The Senate modification allocates $300,000 to the Department of Public Health’s Division of Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention and Services to suggest prevention methods to deal with drink spiking incidents.
DPH could be required to problem a report on its findings about drink spiking prevention by the tip of the 12 months.
Also, this modification requires DPH to launch a public consciousness marketing campaign concerning the prevalence and hazard of involuntary drink spiking.
During the Senate debate, Feeney emphasised that so many of those drink spiking incidents go unreported. He cited a viral TikTok submit from a Mansfield resident, who talked about struggling to seek out care after she was allegedly roofied. Hospital employees wouldn’t check her for date rape medication as a result of she wasn’t sexually assaulted or raped.
When the sufferer isn’t examined for date rape medication, then no report is made to legislation enforcement, Feeney mentioned.
“Whoever did it and got away with it that night is probably going to be back the next night going after somebody else, or the next weekend, or the next weekend, or at another restaurant, another venue,” the senator mentioned.
Police have been warning patrons concerning the dangerousness of scentless, colorless and tasteless medication equivalent to Rohypnol, often known as roofies, being positioned within the drinks of unsuspecting victims.
Other medication generally used similarly are GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) or Ketamine. Police urge patrons to be vigilant and watch their beverage always.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
