Police issue warning about use of date-rape drug in Iqaluit

SEAN McKIBBON

IQALUIT — Workers at the Iqaluit women’s shelter say they have heard a number of stories that have led them to suspect the so-called date-rape drug, Rohypnol, has come to Iqaluit.

“We have had a few women with serious concerns. They talk about only having a couple of drinks and then having totally blacked out,” said a counselor at the shelter.

Used as a sedative in Europe, Mexico and South America, Rohypnol earned a reputation in the U.S. as a rape drug after a number of cases in which people were given alcoholic drinks spiked with the substance.

Odorless, tasteless, and colorless when dissolved, the drug puts people in a seemingly drunken state and can cause them to lose their memory for as long as eight hours at a time. Rohypnol comes in the form of a small white pill similar in appearance to Aspirin.

“We have talked to several women who were entirely credible,” said Trish Hughes-Wieczorek, director of the Baffin Regional Agvvik Society, which runs the Iqaluit shelter. Although the shelter has “no specific evidence,” she said she passed the information on to the Iqaluit RCMP and notified the bars in town.

The Iqaluit RCMP detachment issued a news release Nov. 13 warning that the drug may have surfaced in Iqaluit.

“A person who has been unknowingly slipped the drug will either act out of character, become hyperactive or very relaxed. They appear to be intoxicated. The victim may then be taken to another location. There they become involved in sexual activities without their knowledge or consent. When the victim wakes up the following morning they have little or no recall of what occurred. They may feel as though something occurred, but they cannot be certain of what, who or even where,” the release says.

“It’s more of a public awareness announcement. There may be cases where it has occurred,” said Sergeant Mike O’Malley, the acting commander of the Iqaluit detachment. He also said he does not believe there is any cause for alarm, since the detachment is not investigating any Rohypnol related complaints right now.

Sergeant André Guertin of the RCMP’s national headquarters in Ottawa said that Rohypnol seizures in Canada are rare, although he cautioned that doesn’t mean the drug is not out there.

“The largest seizure ever in Canada, I think, was in January of this year in Vancouver, and that was 3,500 units (pills),” he said. The drug is illegal in Canada and the U.S., Guertin said.

The news release issued by the police advises women that they can take the following precautions:

Never take a drink from anyone unless you have seen it opened or poured;
Never leave a drink unattended;
Always keep your drink in your hand so that no one can tamper with it;
If you have left your drink or feel someone may have tampered with it, pour it out and get a new glass;
Go out with a buddy or group;
If you see your friend or anyone acting strange, perhaps under the influence of Rohypnol, take them from whoever they are with and help them to get home;
If you begin to feel suddenly intoxicated even though you have had only a few drinks, get help from a friend, another reliable person or call the police;
Finally, the release advises, if anyone sees someone dropping something suspicious into a drink call the police immediately.