I have no reason to doubt that you're serious.

Really the best preventive measure i can think of is the buddy system. Never go to a party alone and always watch out for each other. Maybe have one person volunteer to be the sober friend that watches out for the group. Trade off so it's not the same person who is always stuck being the sober babysitter.

Well I really don't know if this was a serious post to begin with, but is definetly a serious topic. I've heard that the manufacturer's of these drugs are trying to make them so that they will turn blue when they're in liquid. This would do wonders in any light colored drink, but not so well with pepsi.

Re: ok, why ?
 

Productive:

GREEKGIRL8, What University do you attend and what GLO are you a member? The reason I ask, is that most Universities/Colleges and fraternity/sororities have polices in place to address/prevent/report incidents similar to Date Rape Drugs. Please note that I include Universities/Colleges because this is not just a problem at fraternity houses. I would hazard a guess that this happens more outside of the Greek Community.

Do you and your sisters only hang out at fraternity houses? I would think that the campus and their nationals would be aware of this situation. I also think that no one would hang out with gentlemen or fraternities that are known to be involved in this type of situation... They are playing with their charter, something I would not think someone would want to lose.

Maybe I was just sheltered/lucky or both... but I do not remember anytime that I felt unsafe in the Greek Community... The times out at clubs that I did feel unsafe, my sisters and my guy friends were right by my side!

I do not remember reading about a problem with the Date Rape Drug in the Greek Community and if there was one... ***we have a few GC members who sluth out the good and bad Greek Press***... I am sure we would have heard about it...

If this is truly a problem on your campus, then you need to talk to your President and she needs to address this with Greek Life and Campus Police. GHB and other drugs are nothing to stall about...

Anyone else ever heard of these?

New coasters to detect date-rape drugs
by Erica Bush
Staff Writer

Ohio University students and Athens residents will still have to think twice about leaving their drinks unattended. The technology for new coasters that claim to detect the presence of date-rape drugs is not likely to be used locally anytime soon.

The coasters, distributed by Drink Safe Technologies, Inc., contain two test spots with a color indicator designed to chemically change to deep blue when someone puts a drop of a drug-tainted drink on them, said inventor Francisco Gerra.

If a drug is present, the test spot will change within one minute, turning blue no matter what type of date-rape drug is used, he said. GHB and Ketamine are among the drugs detected by the coaster.

More than 50 million coasters have been sold to universities and bars in the four months they have been on the market, Gerra said.

But OU is not likely to be among the colleges purchasing coasters.

The university became aware of the coasters this summer and started to research them, said Charlene Kopchick, director of health education and wellness.

An investigation, including a call to the Michigan State Police Crime

Lab that provided evidence that the coasters are ineffective, has left OU doubtful of the coasters' usefulness and unwilling to support the distribution of them to students, she said.

"There is just not enough evidence to conclude these coasters will work,"

Kopchick said.

OU officials are skeptical about distributing the coasters for several reasons. First, a dentist invented them - not a forensic scientist. Also, the coasters might not work for dark-colored drinks. Furthermore, the coasters cannot differentiate between street drugs and date-rape drugs. In some cases, they might take a half-hour to detect the presence of certain drugs, she said.

"If we were to distribute them and they did not work, it might give people a false sense of security," Kopchick said.

Despite evidence from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab contradicting the coasters' effectiveness, Gerra said he stands by his product.

He believes the coasters work, and those who say they do not, have never performed a test on them or have performed a test using a weaker concentration of a solution than that needed to detect date-rape drugs.

"I challenge anyone to take a coaster to a forensic lab and test it out,"

Gerra said.

Whether or not these coasters work, local bars were not aware of the new product and, like the university, have no plans of distributing them.

Jim Prouty, owner of O'Hooley's Irish Pub, 24 W. Union St., said he has not heard about these coasters and probably would not look into using them any time soon.

In the 21 years he has been working there, date-rape drugs are not something that he has seen a problem with, Prouty said.

It also has not been a concern for employees of Casa Cantina, 4 W. State St., who are unaware of the coasters.

"I have heard of (drugs being slipped into drinks) being a problem for other bars, but not here," said bar manager Sean Collins.

It might be a consideration to carry these coasters in the future as a preventative measure if they become more convenient and are proven to work, Collins said.

The Pub, 39 N. Court St., also will remain among the bars unchanged by the new technology.

The Pub's manager Dennis Shaffer said there is no need for the coasters.

"We always hope most people have friends with them when they drink, and that those friends encourage them not to leave their drinks unattended," he said.



Unmarked coasters are 40 cents each and sold in quantities of 125

Custom-labeled coasters are 45 cents each and sold in quantities of 10,000

For purchasing information see the Drink Safe Technologies, Inc. Web site (http://www.drinksafetech.com) or call 1-888-707-SAFE.

Re: Re: ok, why ?
 

I can let you know that date rape drugs are a serious problem in the Greek community -- maybe no MORE of a problem than they are outside of the Greek community, but they are a problem nevertheless. And, speaking for myself, one of my sisters and her friend went out to a fraternity party last weekend and they think the friend got drugged -- her friend didn't watch anyone mix her drinks (always a mistake), and she was out after only a couple drinks. They can't think of another explanation besides the date rate drug, but since they have no proof -- and even if they had, they wouldn't have known whether or not it was a fraternity member or not who had done it -- so they're not taking it to the police, but it could have turned into a serious problem if this girl hadn't had anyone looking out for her.

Regardless of the intentions of the original poster, this is a serious and relevant issue within the Greek community, and it deserves to be discussed here.

**********Please Be Advised**********

I am not speaking as a moderator, but rather a concerned member of the community.

Stop Accusing Other People of Being Someone Else and Therefore Trying to Discredit Their Post! Unless you have some definitive proof!

Enough already children.

It is rude, condescending, and discourages people from meaningfully interacting on this board when they are slammed because someone wants to mock their post.

Another thing.

As a moderator, I can tell you that the VAST MAJORITY (like 99 percent) of the time when someone has been accused of being someone else, that accusation was FALSE.

Ok, are we all on the same page yet?

This is a Greek Life Bulletin Board. We don't know each other. We have no way of knowing how accurate each poster is being.

So as mature readers, what we do is have a suspension of disbelief. Meaning we take what we read at face value. And comment on the information in that post.

Is that so difficult?

If you still have a problem with a poster and think they only exist to do people some type of harm, like Cyber-Fricking-Terrorists trying to destruct the greek system with word bombs, please contact the moderator of that forum or John the Administrator at webteam@greekchat.com .

Now lets get back to talking about Date Rape.

Thank you and have a nice day. :)

re: coasters
 

DeltAlum,

When I first read that article, I didn't realize they meant the little paper coasters you get under your drink in the bar...and I was having a very very very very very very VERY hard time envisioning guys using coasters at the fraternity house. :D :D

And you're going to test every single one of your drinks? Interesting idea but not very practical.

If I may hijack this post briefly to comment on identities of posters:

To All New Posters:

If you have joined GreekChat for legitimate reasons--i.e., for fellowship or to learn--welcome! We're glad to hear from you!

If you have signed on for sh*tty reasons--i.e., to create conflict or annoy GC members or to try to get them to say something nasty about Greeks so you can, say, use it in the media--

Please go jump in the nearest swamp and drown yourself. Thank you!:D

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Re: re: coasters
 

33,

It would be cost prohibitive to put big ramps in all of the fraternity houses to use those big coasters!

Seriously, and speaking of cost prohibitive, these "little" coasters are damned expensive. You have to assume that a bar would add that expense to the cost of the drink. Those are pretty expensive as it is.

The buddy system, or keeping you hand over the top of your glass whenever you aren't actually drinking from it, or when you are looking/talking in a different direction seem to me like the best defense.

As a final note, any man, fraternity or other, who has to resort to drugs to get laid is beneath contempt.

You forgot to mention something....



Are they using them to date rape chicks? or are they using them to get wasted themselves?


Take GHB for example, just about every guy I know that uses it DOES NOT slip it into chicks drinks, rather he uses it for himself either to get wasted drinking only 1/3 of what he normally needs to, OR he uses to burn all the fat down in his body while lifting weights.


Please state the facts.

You're right. I did forget something. About three years ago, a Delt at Ohio State died after taking GHB and drinking. He passed out and drowned in his own vomit.

Enjoy.

GHB
 

My advice on this would be, to make sure everyone is aware. Maybe get a speaker to come in and talk about it to your chapter. But as always, NEVER EVER EVER leave a drink anywhere!!! and if you do don't pick it back up! If one of your girls starts acting overly intoxicated, passing out, DO NOT let her out of your site, that is one of the symptoms of GHB


REcently i was victem of the date rape drug, yet was fortunate that nothing sever happened to me because my friends took care of me! I was sick, and out of it for a couple of days however. I know that before this incident, i knew what GHB was, but was one of those people who said I have Nothing to worry about It won't ever Happen to me! Now, I have a whole new outlook on it.

So for My sake as well as yours. Please educate them on this, it's exstremly scary and dangerous!

Thanx~

Bridget~
I

Damn, you guys act like it's bad or something.



You know it was legal just 3 years ago. I remember buying it in GNC stores in malls.


The FDA outlawed it only when people started being bad with it.



I think most cases of chicks thinking they've been slipped a date rape drug is just an exaggeration of being extremely drunk.

They don't want to look like a lush so they say...."Oh, I must have been slipped GHB since I was acting liek an idiot..."

Stupid chicks!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Totally unfounded with absolutely no backup, and some of the most remarkably sexist things I've ever read.

Unbelievable.