STRAIGHT TALK FOR TEENS

Drugging can happen

Dear Straight Talk: Please print this letter as it may help others. My friend was slipped a date-rape drug at a party. She was drinking, but not that much, then suddenly she started acting super drunk and went unconscious. We got her out of there, but nobody would take her to emergency because her dad is a government figure. She woke up the next day, but she's really spacey and shaky. Please warn others: Don't drink ANYTHING you don't open yourself at a party!We totally thought this party was OK. To anyone who uses these drugs, you are potential murderers and should go to jail. -- Lauren, No City Please

Katie, 18: Your friend is lucky to be alive -- no thanks to everyone's stupidity. Do you think her father would have thanked you at the funeral for thinking of his career? I can't stress enough how important medical treatment is when you've been slipped something. You don't know the dose, the drug can react with a medication, or the person can be chemically allergic. When someone is unconscious, you don't know what is going on.

I never accept an opened drink. If I set my drink down, I make another. A girl I know was slipped something with close friends. That's how careful you have to be.

Leah, 19: Wherever you go, always get your own drink. Never let someone get you one, unless it is unopened. If you take your eyes off your drink, dump it and get a new one. Also, never drink from communal punch bowls.

Jaclyn, 25: Being dosed can happen to ANYONE. I've been lucky, but a friend wasn't. At a party there was a group of guys that she thinks slipped her a "roofie." She'd only had two drinks and suddenly felt extremely drunk. The next thing she knew, she was in a dark room with several men. She briefly remembers struggling against them.

She was horrified the next day and had a physical exam to ensure she didn't contract anything. I recommended she call police, but the blackout affected her memory. 

Dear Lauren: While you've taken a well-deserved tanning for risking health over image, I appreciate your warning to our readers about date-rape drugs. Your parties are not your parents' parties. Then, the classic date-rape drug was alcohol. Nobody worried that it might be spiked with a "roofie," a colorless, tasteless, odorless, sometimes deadly drug that causes total loss of inhibition and complete amnesia. I've had teens tell me, where they live, one in three parties involves somebody getting dosed.

To victims: See a doctor ASAP. Then see a counselor.

To non-victims: Many of you suspect who is slipping the roofies and can get their names with some snooping. Take back the party by reporting suspects' names and/or license plates to police. Your identity will be protected. To readers: Never accept an opened drink and always dump an unattended one. -- Lauren

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