Last Friday, a woman became ill while consuming a drink that a man was seen giving her at Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub in downtown Halifax. “Staff noticed a guest that seemed off. We approached them, checked in on them to see how they were doing. And she then said, ‘I feel off and I’m not feeling quite right after a drink that somebody gave me,’” says Niall McGuinness, Dirty Nelly’s manager. Staff promptly removed her from the situation and called 911. Halifax Regional Police arrived at the scene around 1:30 a.m. and met with staff who were administering Narcan to the woman. “Staff was assisting or tending to that woman who was somewhat unresponsive,” says Martin Cromwell, Halifax Regional Police public information officer. Cromwell says the investigation is still ongoing, but a toxicology report is underway. Officers also located and arrested a 31-year-old man who is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. He was charged with administer noxious thing with intent. Police say these types of incidents are difficult to track. “It’s only until our officers arrive and start their investigation that they’re able to determine what actually took place. So it’s hard to say that this is a common occurrence, again, because of how we receive the calls,” says Cromwell. Cromwell notes officers are always downtown during peak bar hours so if anyone experiences a situation like this, they are encouraged to approach an officer. He says the drug often used to tamper with drinks is called GHB, also known as Gamma-hydroxybutyrate. “It can bring on symptoms of being intoxicated quite heavily, quite abruptly. One might start feeling dizzy than they normally would, quickly become unsteady on their feet, become nauseous, dizzy, memory loss. The effects can happen in the quickest five minutes to 30 minutes, and they can last up to 12 hours, in some cases,” says Cromwell. Establishments like Durty Nelly’s take these instances very seriously. McGuinness says he’s proud of his team for how they responded. “The most important thing in here is looking out for the safety of the staff and then also the patrons that that visit us and, you know, keep us going,” says McGuinness The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia (RANS) says it can happen at festivals, events, house parties, restaurants, bars and even on dates. “The fault is on the person who tampers with the drink. It is a criminal offence and it is absolutely appalling behavior,” says Natasha Chestnut, RANS executive director. Chestnut says establishments have policies and protocols in place to help combat this. “Signage up that shares what the signs of drink tampering are, you know, maybe you have test strips on hand, having something like Narcan that you can administer if someone is showing that their drink has been tampered with and perhaps they’re unresponsive. These are all things that establishments are doing to help prevent and respond accordingly,” says Chestnut Chesnut notes RANS strongly encourages patrons to prioritize their own safety. She says never take a drink from someone you don’t know and don’t leave your drink unattended. “It’s always been something that has been happening. It’s hard to know in terms of incidences, the actual statistics around it. It can be a hard thing to formally track because when you look at substances like GHB, you know, Rohypnol, ketamine, they metabolize really quickly. They don’t always stay in the bloodstream for a very long time. By the time you’re doing testing, it can be hard to get like that formal,” says Chestnut. Many students say they know people who have first-hand experiences with drink tampering. “Definitely say it happens a lot. I could definitely name three or four friends that have gone through it in my time here,” Sophia Tallboy, a Dalhousie University student. “My girlfriends are walking around with open drinks and it’s not what you want to see happen,” says Nate Fisher, a Dalhousie University student. Police remind people to report these incidents. “We’re always here to investigate. Even if you think it may not be worth reporting, after the fact, the next day, we would still encourage you to do so,” says Cromwell. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
