Pubdate: Sun, 29 Dec 2002
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2003 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author:  B. Scott Bortnick

COASTERS TEST DRINKS FOR DRUGS

Date-Rape Danger Targeted

Sunday, December 29, 2002 - On any given weekend, thousands of young women 
hit the bars, the dance clubs and the college party scene as they search 
for fun up and down the Front Range.

Drink Safe Technologies has distributed more than 50 million beverage 
coasters that the Florida company says can help detect the presence of 
drugs in drinks. And while the vast majority return home with little more 
than a hangover, some may wake up with no recollection of where they've 
been, what they've done or what's been done to them.

While binge drinking is the most likely suspect behind party blackouts, 
authorities in Denver say that scores of metro-area women are victimized 
each year when they unwittingly accept drinks dosed with date-rape drugs 
such as GHP, ketamine and rohypnol.

"We found that 10 percent of our 350 clients were victims of 
drug-facilitated sexual assaults," said Marte McNally, director of 
counseling with the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program in Denver.

These figures merely scratch the surface because only about 10 percent of 
sexual assault victims report attacks, McNally says.

At least one company says it has devised a countermeasure that can help 
detect the presence of predator drugs in drinks and perhaps deter those who 
seek to drug women.

Drink Safe Technologies of Plantation, Fla., has distributed more than 50 
million beverage coasters equipped with a simple chemical reaction test.

Drink-tester

While hardly foolproof, the inventors - a South Florida entrepreneur and a 
New York dentist - say their product is a reliable way to test drinks.

"I knew someone who told me a horrific story," said Francisco Guerra, Drink 
Safe's president, referring to a close friend who became a date-rape drug 
victim in the fall of 2000. "She woke up in a seedy hotel, naked, confused 
and sexually violated."

That story was enough to get Guerra started on his product. He teamed up 
with Dr. Brian Glover of New York to create their coaster technology.

The two have distributed coasters to colleges and advertise the 40-cent 
product on the Internet. The coasters should be available in drug and 
grocery stores in the near future, Guerra said.

The coasters have raised concern among some in law enforcement and rape 
prevention. Critics doubt that the product works as advertised.

"It borders on fraud," said Trinka Porrata, a retired Los Angeles Police 
Department narcotics officer, who has researched the product. "There are 36 
drugs used to rape women and the coasters only identify one or two. They 
say if there is no color change, then the drink is safe. But that is a lie."

Porrata said that a clever predator could drop drugs into a drink after it 
has been tested.

"If you look away from a drink, that gives someone plenty of time to squirt 
in some GHB," she said.

Guerra agreed the coasters do not detect every kind of drug. But he said 
the products do reveal the presence of GHB, ketamine and several other 
chemicals he refused to name out of fear that predators would use them to 
victimize women.

"We are not saying that this is an end-all," Guerra said of the coasters. 
"This is a tool and it must be utilized properly."

Guerra said the coaster works remarkably well.

"It stands on its own," he said.

The current coasters do not test well with all drinks. A disclaimer warns 
that the coasters are not to be used to test any milk products or beverages 
that contain milk product, crme or oily liquors.

"I am the first to say the (present) coasters are limited," Guerra said. 
"We still have research to do. But beside from telling people to watch 
their drinks, what else is being done about this crime?"

The coasters have shown promise in South Florida, said Sgt. John Liguori, 
an undercover narcotics detective with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

"We have tested them with some GHB that we have seized and they tested 
accurately," Liguori said. "We have yet to receive a false positive."

Set for spring break

Fort Lauderdale police plan to use the coasters as an educational tool when 
hordes of young revelers come to town for spring break.

"We have demonstrated the coasters at community workshops and use them as 
an awareness tool," Liguori said. "We do not say this is a foolproof test. 
But we think if we can demonstrate why we have them, we can give citizens a 
reason to become educated on these drugs."

The coasters have served a similar educational purpose at the University of 
Miami.

"We have used them during our Alcohol Awareness Week," said Carolyn 
Waszkiewicz, a graduate assistant with the school's Center for Alcohol and 
Drug Education. "We held a house party and dropped Skittles into sodas to 
show how easily one can be drugged."

Scores of students have taken the coasters home with them, she said.

"I think it is a great idea," Waszkiewicz said. "If nothing else, it makes 
students aware of what could go on and what could happen."

Still, authorities say the best way to avoid date-rape drugs is to party 
with friends and watch one another's back.

"Girls should never go out drinking alone," said Pam Russell, a 
spokesperson for the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. "Friends 
should notice if friends begin to lose it after having a drink. If that 
happens, they should all get out of there."

Law enforcement officials in Denver and across the nation admit that it is 
extremely difficult to prosecute a date-rape drug case. For starters, the 
victim often has no clear idea what happened. In addition, most date-rape 
drugs are out of the victim's system by the time she wakes up and realizes 
something bad has occurred.

Law enforcement officials have called the use of date-rape drugs "a perfect 
crime."

While many experts in the field of rape prevention say the coasters are 
great in theory, one bar patron says the product isn't very practical.

"The idea is good, but it would be kind of problematic to do it with every 
drink," said Carmen Miller, a bartender at The Church nightclub in Denver. 
"You'd look kind of retarded standing a the bar doing this (test). You'd 
look like a paranoid freak."

"People will think you are a psycho," added Stephanie Beery, 23 of Aurora, 
when asked about testing her bar drinks. "When people buy you drinks, you 
go to the bar with them and watch it handed to you."

Jason Parr, 28 of Denver, said he would not be offended if a woman tested a 
drink he had offered.

"A precautionary method such as this is good," he said during an interview 
inside The Church. "It's better to be safe than stupid."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart