If your date offers you a drink, put the straw in the drink. If it turns blue, things may not be cool. Here’s an Inside Edition report:

For three high schoolers, hearing about the risk of “date rape drugs” was the last straw…that led them to designing the first straw to detect common “date rape drugs”. Victoria Roca, Susana Cappello, and Carolina Baigorri who attend Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, designed a straw that includes two chemical test strips that turn navy blue if it comes into contact with some substances frequently used for “drug-facilitated sexual assault.” In other words, if your date offers you a drink, put the straw in the drink. If it turns blue, things may not be cool. Here’s an Inside Edition report:

The current version of their straw can detect three substances which seem to be frequently utilized to disorient victims so that they can taken advantage of or kidnapped (e.g., human trafficking). Unfortunately, there aren’t reliable statistics on how often “date rape drugs” are used since many occurrences go unreported or even unknown by the victims. Each of the substances has a plethora of different nicknames. The first is flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), also called roofies, Forget Pills, Lunch Money, Mind Erasers, Rib, Roach, Rope, Ruffies, Trip-and-Fall, and Whiteys. These can come as pills that are small, round or oval, and white or green-gray and dissolves in liquids. People may also grind up the pills into a powder before dumping them in drinks. The onset of effects can occur within 30 minutes of ingestion and last for several hours. Symptoms include loss of muscle control, difficulty moving, feeling drunk, difficulty talking, nausea, upset stomach, confusion, vision problems, dizziness, sleepiness, loss of consciousness, and, of course, the whole reason why some may give this to you, memory loss while drugged. A second substance is ketamine, also known as Black Hole, Bump, Cat Valium, Green, Jet, K, K-Hole, Kit Kat, Psychedelic Heroin, Purple, Special K, and Super Acid. In health care, ketamine can be very useful, such as serving as an anesthetic during or after surgeries and other procedures or helping those with asthma or chronic obstructive airway disease. Special K acts within minutes of taking the drug. As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) explains, on “the street,” it’s form is usually a clear liquid and a white or off-white powder, typically packaged in small glass vials, small plastic bags, capsules, or paper, glassine, or aluminum foil folds. The drug may lead to agitation, depression, difficulty thinking, loss of consciousness, and yes, of course, loss of memory. Hallucinations are also common. And there are even nicknames for the ketamine-induced trips that typically last 30 to 60 minutes and give you a feeling of disconnection and loss of control. There’s “K-land” which the DEA describes as a “mellow and colorful experience”, “K-hole”, which is an “out-of-body, near death experience”, “Baby food”, which is “blissful, infantile inertia”, and “God” in which you think you have met your “maker.” The third substance is gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also called liquid ecstasy, Easy Lay, Energy Drink, Great Hormones, Grievous Bodily Harm, and Vita-G. This is the drug that actress Mischa Barton reported was found in her system when she checked into Cedars-Sinai Hospital after celebrating her 31st birthday this past January. Barton went to the hospital after noticing that her behavior was becoming erratic and after the lab test in the hospital, suspected that someone had slipped GHB into one of her drinks. GHB comes as a liquid with no odor or color, a white powder, or a pill. Since it may make your drink taste saltier, people may mixing it with a sweet drink, such as fruit juice, to mask the change in taste. According to the DEA, people sell forms of GHB that are supposed to help build muscles, lose fat, treat baldness, improve eyesight, prevent aging, help depression, clean fish tanks, remove ink stains, clean ink cartridges, and remove nail polish. The effects of the dug begin between 15 and 60 minutes after ingestion and can last up to six hours. GHB can lead to feeling euphoric, calm, or more sexually aroused, becoming more passive and susceptible to influence, and failing to remember what happened while the drug is in your body.

Straws may not be the only option available in the near future to detect such drugs in your drink. As Andrea Fox wrote for EfficientGov, different people are also working on nail polish, cups, coasters, and other devices that are supposed to have chemical detection capabilities. Thus, you could eventually wear nail polish and subtly dip your finger into the drink (A company called Undercover Colors is trying to develop this option.) Or you may carry around a cup and insist that all drinks go into the cup. (DrinkSavvy is working on such as cup.) Of course, trying to shove a coaster into your drink may seem awkward, so the thought is that you would try to spill your drink onto the coaster. Keep in mind that as with all testing devices, errors can occur. It is not clear how often the device fails to detect a substance or falsely indicates that the substance is present. The substance may clump together and not be evenly distributed in the drink. (This may mean that you have to pour the entire drink on the coaster, which may be a bit obvious). Also, such devices shouldn’t replace the following precautions: Don’t accept drinks from people whom you do not know and trust. Make sure that your open sealed containers yourself or watch the bartender prepare drinks. Watch your drink at all times, even on bathroom trips. Yes, it is OK to take your drink with you to the toilet. Beware of “communal” drinks such as punch bowls, drink pools, fountains, and drinking game drinks. Avoid drinking anything that looks, smells, or tastes unusual (or is being used to clean fish tanks). When drinking, stay with a friend who is not drinking and can protect you (and doesn’t dislike you). Have a low threshold for pouring out your drink, such as when you have left it unintended. Tell someone trusted as soon as you start feeling drunk or having suspicious symptoms, such as seeing your maker. Be careful about anyone who insists that you drink something. Roca, Cappello, and Baigorri are working on patenting and making the straw available. There probably needs to be more testing to determine how accurate and reliable the straws are. While it won’t offer you full protection against people who are trying to take advantage of or kidnap you, if it works as it should, the straw may help prevent you from being a drug-induced sucker to that smooth talker who has access to your drink.

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