Date rape drug poisoning: Quebec bar owners open to distributing tests to detect GHB

Bar owners in Quebec are open to imitating California, where a law will force owners of licensed establishments to provide their customers with tests aimed at detecting date rape drugs in their consumption.

From 1^er July, all California bars and nightclubs, excluding those with restaurant permits, will be required to provide free or “reasonably priced” tests for GHB, ketamine and other substances that can create similar effects.

“Good initiative”

In Quebec, representatives of two groups of bar owners admit that this is a “good initiative” against this “widespread” problem.

• Listen to the interview with Peter Sergakis, President of the Union of Bar Owners of Quebec at QUB on Yasmine Abdelfadel’s show via QUB :

As proof, last year, nearly 230 people consulted the emergency rooms of the five hospitals of the CHU de Québec, due to GHB poisoning, voluntary or not.

• Listen to the legal segment with Félix Séguin via
  :

Protect customers

“If there was this same law here, we would definitely follow it. If it becomes a customer request, we will be supportive. We want to do what is good for our customers,” says Peter Sergakis, president of the Union of Bar Owners of Quebec, which represents nearly 650 establishments.

The general director of the Corporation of owners of bars, brasseries and taverns of Quebec, Renaud Poulin, is also in favor of this measure.

He specifies, however, that bar owners are “well aware” of this problem, especially since various regional police forces recently made a tour to make owners aware of involuntary GHB poisoning, in particular.

“It’s not new that this exists. Before, it seems that we had it in periods, but now, it appears more often, it is more widespread,” laments Mr. Poulin, who for his part represents 800 establishments in Quebec.

Strong enthusiasm for these tests

Even if there is no law governing GHB detection tests in Quebec, they have been gaining popularity over the past year, says the director of Alco Prévention, Stéphane Maître, distributor of these products.

Mr. Maître claims to have sold more than 120,000 tests to various companies in the country last year, an increase of 500% compared to 2022. “There is a very strong enthusiasm, not just here, but internationally, for these tests,” he maintains.

Train employees

In Quebec, certain proactive establishments have already trained their employees by giving them the tools to know how to act in the presence of an intoxicated person. Others are interested in acquiring tests to detect date-rape drugs.

This is the case, among others, of the Le Jardin cocktails and beers bar, on Avenue Cartier, and the Atelier bar, on the Grande Allée, where around fifty employees received “Order an Angelot” training. , aimed at combating sexual violence committed in bars.

“We don’t take anything lightly. We want our employees to be proactive in the face of all types of behavior,” says the co-owner of the Atelier, Jonathan Ollat.

The latter also specifies that security agents are present every evening in the popular establishment in Old Quebec.

According to the Criminal Code, an individual found guilty of having “administered or caused to be administered a drug to another person” is liable to life imprisonment.

Effects of unintentional GHB poisoning

• Blackouts
• Anxiety
• Feeling of insecurity
• Feeling of loss of control
• High overdose risks
• Anyone who believes they have been the victim of poisoning or assault can go to the hospital or contact Viol-Secours to carry out a forensic examination within five days following the event. However, the date rape drug only remains present in the urine for 12 hours.