Put an additive in drinks sold at bars that change colour when the drink is spiked. Obviously not all drugs could be detected with one additive, but certain additives could be used to target specific drug problems.-- MikeOliver, Apr 07 2004 Similar? http://pqasb.pqarch...commonly+used+drugsSorry this is just a short excerpt - I saw the front page of the "Evening Times" (Glasgow) the other day and it seemed to have a story describing an additive like your idea. [Jinbish, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] "Date-Rape" drugs http://www.4woman.gov/faq/rohypnol.htmRohypnol does turn drinks blue ... for new tablets [jonthegeologist, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] They've just released a tester to do this, I've no idea what the reactant is but you probably don't want it actually in the drink...maybe impregnate it in the glass though, so it'd change colour the moment its spiked?-- dooper, Apr 07 2004 You'd have to sacrifice part of your drink by pouring some into a side jigger, and testing that.-- phundug, Apr 07 2004 no need. pointless. Firstly, a lot of the drugs that could be used to spike drinks, such as rohypnol, turn the drinks blue. Now unless you're a regular blue curacao drinker, this is easy to spot.
Additives to drinks could affect taste and would affect price. Solution : If you think your drink has been spiked, change your company and buy a new drink.-- jonthegeologist, Apr 07 2004 I read about the tester [dooper] mentions this very morning in the Metro free newspaper you get here in the UK. Looked on their site but couldn't find the story. If I remember correctly, it tested for Rohypnol and Diazepam and only cost about £4 or something.-- saker, Apr 07 2004 Does rohypnol turn drinks blue? I thought it was colourless and tasteless hence not easy to spot and a major problem.
[jon] I don't think the problem is with the brand of drink. More with the creep standing next to you at the bar.
I think there is very much a need for ways to check your drink is OK. Of course there are also obvious things to do like drink from bottles and keep your thumb over the top. I have heard of various test strips and even bar mats that you drop a bit of your drink onto.
I'm not sure the solution is to put indicators in at source - not least because with coloured drinks you just might not spot the colour change.-- hazel, Apr 07 2004 Yeah, i have read about a tester also, but realistically, who is gonna carry it round and use it on a night out. I dunno about drugs being coloured, but presumably if they were then drink spiking wouldn't be an issue, and clearly it is... Perhaps a different reaction, for example violent fizzing, the drink heating up etc. would be more noticable in a dark club. Regarding cost/taste of additives, well i would hope a tasteless one could be developed, and it would be sure to cost less than £4 per drink (i would imagine fractions of a penny per drink).-- MikeOliver, Apr 07 2004 From what I've heard [Mike], people do carry testers around.-- hazel, Apr 07 2004 at £4 ($6 ish), it's cheaper to buy a new drink if you believe that yours has been spiked in any way. The £4 test can only be used once ... if you're planning a night out in a bar, it'll cost you a fortune.
This test has been cynically brought out and is marketing on men and women's understandable fears of such matters. If the test cost pence, it'd be a different matter.
[hazel] when I said change your company, I meant change the people around you as it's clear they cannot be trusted.-- jonthegeologist, Apr 07 2004 LOL [jtg]. I thought you were inferring one company's drinks weren't as good!-- hazel, Apr 07 2004 mm. I could tell. tsk. anyhoos, back to the debate.-- jonthegeologist, Apr 07 2004 [jtg] - I was under the impression that they take about 10-15 minutes to form a small blue ring around the top of the drink. In a nightclub with dim or coloured lighting, that wouldn't be much help (even without the delay). But I could well be wrong, since I can't find the article.-- Detly, Apr 07 2004 Good idea, but surely a better one is a color-changing swizzle stick? That way, there are no problems with the dye itself changing the color or taste of the drink.-- DrCurry, Apr 08 2004 With regard to any sort of testing for these drugs, how do deal with all the inevitable false positives? How many legitimate dates and/or friendships would be ruined by false accusations of drugging drinks? Imagine how much higher the already ramped-up paranoia level would be. That alone would make it hugely unpopular.-- iivix, Apr 08 2004 random, halfbakery