‘Spiking’ is giving someone else drugs or alcohol without their knowledge or permission. For example;
Giving someone more alcohol or drugs than they were expecting and consented to is also spiking. For example, giving someone double shots instead of single ones.
Spiking a drink with drugs has also been known by the term ‘date rape’ drugs.
These drugs come in a variety of forms – most common is Rohypnol and although difficult to legally obtain in the UK, they are sold as sleeping pills in most other countries with the exception of the USA.
Rohypnol has physiological effects similar to Valium (diazepam) but is approximately ten times more potent. The tablets are typically white, scored on one side, with the word “ROCHE” and an encircled one or two (depending on the dosage) on the other. They are sold in pre-sealed bubble packs of one or two milligram doses and are often dissolved in an unsuspecting victim’s drink.
When dissolved most “date rape” drugs are completely undetectable. You can’t see them; you can’t smell them; and you can’t taste them.
Attackers will use this drug because it makes their victim unable to resist a sexual attack. When a drink is ‘spiked’, these drugs have usually been slipped into an alcoholic drink. Rohypnol takes effect within ten minutes after ingesting. The victim may feel dizzy and disoriented, simultaneously too hot and too cold, or nauseated.
They will want to leave the safety of the club or bar they are in so as to get back to their home or hotel and this is when the attacker will strike, acting like a Good Samaritan helping someone who has had too much to drink to a taxi.
These drugs usually take full effect within thirty minutes, peak within two hours, and can persist for up to eight hours. They can induce a blackout with memory loss and a decrease in resistance. Usually, victims experience difficulty speaking and moving, and then pass out. Such victims have no memories of what happened while under the drug’s influence. Frighteningly, the age range of victims is varied from teenagers to senior citizens.
Other ‘date rape’ drugs include Clonazepam (known as Klonopin in the USA and Rivotril in Mexico), Ketamine and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutrate). Some come in dissolvable tablet form, some in liquid form. All have similar effects to Rohypnol. None of them have any taste, odour or colour and dissolve in liquid without a trace.
To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking, here are a few suggestions for staying aware and alert:
‘Spiking by injection’ only really became known in the UK around 2021 but even now, the instances of spiking by injection are fairly low. Why? Because getting into a nightclub with a needle, syringe, or auto-injector pen is harder than walking in with a small pill in your pocket.
Similarly, injecting someone without getting seen is harder to do than slipping a pill in a drink. And it’s also to do with how spiking by injection works.
People who have been spiked by injection either feel nothing at all, as drugs have not entered the body, or they fall unconscious quite quickly. At the moment, too quickly for the Good Samaritan (the perpetrator) to step in and ‘help’ them to a taxi.
Most victims of injections, where drugs have entered the body, report nothing else happening to them other than becoming unconscious. Some report being robbed of their purse or bag, but not many. In fact, a Home Affairs Committee Report into ‘Spiking’ in 2022, noted “a complete lack of motive in respect of needle spiking”.
Obviously, as the drugs used get more refined, this may change in the future and they may be used in a similar way to ‘date rape’ drugs, but at the moment, this is not the case and spiking by injection is still extremely rare.
Furthermore, experts from the scientific and academic communities have claimed that the chances of being spiked by injection is extremely unlikely. Prof Adam Winstock, a trained consultant psychiatrist from the Global Drugs Survey, explained that “Needles have to be inserted with a level of care […] The idea these things can be randomly given through clothes in a club is just not that likely.”
Lacing a roll-up cigarette with drugs has been on the go for some time now, however spiking by vape only really came to our attention since 2023. It has fast become the easiest and therefore the most common way to give someone else drugs without their knowledge or permission.
Here are some tips on how to avoid it happening to YOU;
1. Don’t share your vape – If you are at a nightclub, festival or simply out socialising, it can be easy to share your vape with strangers who may ask for a puff. However, if you don’t keep an eye on your vape, you could be susceptible to vape spiking. This entails lacing your vape with substances such as vapourised LSD or synthetic marijuana, which could lead to not only serious health implications, but possibly robbery or even sexual assault, which you will not be in a fit state to prevent. In crowded scenes such as festivals, concerts and nightclubs, it is hard to be aware of everything going on around you. It’s therefore best to avoid sharing your vape to ensure that you don’t lose track of it and you therefore know it hasn’t been tampered with in any way.
2. Don’t accept vapes from strangers offering them – When you are out socialising, especially in large crowded areas such as festivals, pubs, etc. some people may offer you a puff of their vape or offer for you to try their flavour. If this happens to you, don’t be tempted. Just politely decline their offer. The “try my vape” approach is increasingly being used as a method to spike you. Remember, when taking a vape from a stranger, you can never be sure of what it may contain or if it is safe to smoke. Don’t be tempted to try it.
3. Ensure no one tampers with your own vape – In a busy, crowded event, it is easy to lose your vape. Always ensure that it is kept safe in the same way that you would store your phone, bank card, or other important personal possessions. Store it somewhere, such as a front pocket or bag. If you find your vape is not where you left it, don’t smoke it again. Investing in a case to store your vape in is also a good idea if you are going to a festival or gig, as it helps keep everything together and protects your device when not in use.
4. If you find a vape you dropped or lost, don’t smoke it again – At busy events, it is easy to drop things or lose your possessions if you aren’t careful. If you drop your vape and someone claims to have found it, ensure you don’t smoke it again, as you can’t be sure if it has been tampered with. Also don’t smoke it again if you find it on the floor, as this could also have been tampered with and left on the ground near you for you to find again.
5. Buy vapes from reliable retailers – Particularly at festivals or at a pub, someone may offer to sell you vapes for prices which are very cheap. This may be tempting if you want a smoke and have lost or forgotten your own vape, or maybe if you just fancy trying the new flavour that the seller is touting. We strongly advise you not to buy vapes from anywhere that isn’t a reliable, trusted retailer, as these vapes could be laced with substances that are hazardous to your health and put you at risk of vape spiking.
If you do feel as though you have been spiked, in any way (food, drink, injection, cigarette or vape);
• If you are alone and feel as though you may have been spiked, notify a member of staff (bar person, security guard, bouncer, etc.).
• If someone in your party shows signs of being drunk extremely quickly, be wary and watch out for them. If necessary, take them home. Don’t allow them to break away from your party and go home by themselves.
Please notify other people, especially females, you know about the effects of spiking and if you think that you have been a victim, notify the Police immediately.
If you think you may have been spiked then raped, do not shower. Notify the Police immediately.
Remember, spiking can happen to anyone, anywhere and can be carried out by strangers or even people you know.
Spiking someone could result in a number of criminal offences, which can carry sentences of up to ten years in prison; even when no other offence, like theft or assault, has happened.
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