New California law requires bars and clubs to offer drug-testing devices to protect patrons from spiked drinks

A new law in California will require bars and clubs to offer drug-testing devices in an effort to protect patrons from drinks spiked with "date rape drugs."

The law, Assembly Bill 1013, took effect Monday.

It will require 2,400 establishments with Type 48 licenses from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which authorizes the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits, to offer the testing devices for free or at a price “not to exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost,” the department said in a release.

It’ll also require the venues to have signage with the message: “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

The waterholes and clubs will be responsible for providing the kits in the form of test strips, stickers, straws or other devices that “can detect the presence of controlled substances in drinks” such as flunitrazepam, ketamine, and gamma hydroxybutyric acid.

Those are all considered "date rape drugs" that predators may place in a person's drink, and their effects are compounded with alcohol, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Rohypnol, the trade name for flunitrazepam, produces "sedative-hypnotic, anti-anxiety and muscle relaxant effects," according to the DEA. It hasn’t been approved for medical use in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration, but outside of the country it’s prescribed to treat insomnia. It can be dissolved in liquid, and is misused “to physically and psychologically incapacitate victims targeted for sexual assault,” the DEA said.

Ketamine is a general anesthetic that “causes individuals to feel detached form their bodies and surroundings,” and is used as a date rape drug to render victims unable to move or fight back, according to a DEA report. It can also cause amnesia so victims do not remember the events that occurred.

Gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, is another name for the generic drug sodium oxybate. While it exists under the trade name Xyrem and is approved by the FDA as a prescription medication to improve daytime sleepiness, it has been misused for euphoric and calming effects, the DEA said.

Misuse of GHB became popular among young people at dance clubs and raves in the 1990s and also “gained notoriety as a date rape drug,” according to the DEA. Use of GHB can lead to drowsiness, confusion and memory impairment, and can produce visual hallucinations and excited and aggressive behavior. However, at high doses, GHB overdose can result in unconsciousness, seizures, slowed heart rate, coma and death.

A failure to comply with the new California law could lead license holders to face “administrative actions impacting their licenses,” the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said.

Marlene Lenthang

Breaking News Reporter