A friend sent me the following article about a young lady that went out and had one drink. A few hours later she was charged with manslaughter for killing another person with her vehicle. She received a sentence of 40 years in prison. The article is at: http://www.salon.com/2006/08/30/criminal/
This is a frightening story. It seems fairly obvious that she was slipped a date rape drug that caused her to black out. One of the reasons I find this lady’s story so shocking is that it is almost exactly like stories I have heard before in the Kansas City area.
I have had handful clients in the past few years come to me charged with DUI when they swear they only had one or two drinks, then completely blacked out and woke up in their car somewhere else, sometimes after being involved in an accident. This is not just something that happens to other people. There are frequent instances of dosings with the date rape drugs of GHB and Rohypnol in Kansas City bars and clubs. This is also not just something that happens to women. Two of these clients were men and the aim of the perpetrator was apparently just to make someone else sick for the “fun of it”.
These victims had a drink or two and started to feel sick. A couple of them remember leaving because they didn’t feel well. Then, the symptoms fully hit them as they were driving and they pulled over or wrecked. The others don’t remember leaving or how they got to where they were found.
Of course, when the police show up the person appears very intoxicated. Unfortunately, in all of these situations the clients either refused a breath test or were too incoherent to consent to a test. I firmly believe that a breath test would have shown there to be little to no alcohol in the system. GHB can only be found in the blood for a few hours. There is a hair follicle test that can be done, but it has to be done within a month.
Without confirmation that there was something on board other than alcohol, the person is on the hook for a DUI. In fact, the law in Kansas is not exactly clear whether it is still illegal to be driving a car when a drug was involuntarily or unknowingly administered. DUI is an “absolute liability” offense and no intent to drive while under the influence of alcohol or a drug need be shown by the prosecutor. I still believe that a court would not convict a person for a Kansas DUI if it could be proven that a date rape drug was unknowingly ingested, but I would not want to bet on it.
The bottom line is that every person who goes to bars, clubs, parties, or other place where liquid refreshments are served runs the risk that his or her drink will get drugged. It is a very bad situation if that happens. Watch your drink being made, don’t accept drinks from strangers, never let your drink out of your sight or turn your back to a drink. Putting a coaster on top of a drink does not stop someone from drugging you. These odorless, colorless date rape drugs can be slipped in easily and quickly. You must responsible for what goes in your body and in what quantities. Unfortunately, the world is full of bad people who count on the trust of others. You could end up with a DUI or worse.