Is this one of those “my first chemistry project” kinda things? I swear I have heard of heaps of these kind of things coming out of unis, and nothing about this seems different to all the ones from ages ago.
Edit: existing product: https://www.amazon.com/DrinkCheck-Spiking-Escape-Spiking-Personal/dp/B0D1VGWJFG
Highschoolers from 8 years ago: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/05/27/whats-in-your-drink-the-straw-that-can-detect-date-rape-drugs/
Also 2017, and a commercial product: https://www.cnet.com/culture/this-straw-is-smart-enough-to-detect-date-rape-drugs/
While I still can’t say this is novel, this other article mentions that the goal is to make it cheap enough that venues can have enough for every drink that they serve and to put the responsibility on venues rather than the user
“In the anti-violence sector, you know, there’s a lot of very strong feelings about people who are being targeted with violence being told that the burden of safety is on them, and that they have to buy more and do more to protect themselves constantly,” she said.
“The idea is that it’ll be completely ubiquitous,” she said. “Every drink leaving the bar will have a stick in it. Every drink will be stirred, every drink will be tested, every drink will be safe.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubc-stir-stick-spiked-drinks-1.7495753
From the 3rd link:
The team is in the process of speaking with a large manufacturer to bring Smart Straws to the market, Baigorri said, and plan to make it “very affordable and cheap enough to dispose.”
Laudible goal, but I do wonder why other teams failed. The bulk price (on amazon) seems to be about $2.30 each, which definitely isnt super cheap.
The downside of “every drink gets a stick” is that it becomes much easier for a would-be rapist to replace the stick with a fake at the same time as inserting the drug. If you cant trust the integrity of the drink, you can’t trust the stick either.
I wonder if having a “Free drink replacement, no questions asked” policy might be easier/cheaper answer. If you think your drink was tampered with, return it to the bar for a replacement. Bar can increase their prices a bit to cover the wasted drinks.
Isn’t the biggest date rape drug the alcohol itself? This is a nice option but now the rapists will use other drugs to avoid detection and people who rely on these will be less vigilant
Having the ability to test drinks this simply is somehow a negative to you. What a weird take.
Have you ever even drank alcohol, or been in an environment where this occurs?
There’s a vast difference between getting drunk and how incapacitated these drugs make someone. They can even just seem drunk, for a while - at least until their attacker gets them away from the crowd, which is much easier when a drug incapacitates someone so suddenly.
As someone who’s recreationally used GHB and its relative GBL, it can fuck you up way beyond severe intoxication in 15-30 minutes. I’ve seen people have a blast on 1.5 mL of GBL, but be comatose on 2 or 2.5 mL. GBL is one of the recreational drugs with the lowest therapeutic ratios I’ve ever experienced. The window from “I’m not feeling anything” to “feeling great” to completely passed out, unable to be awoken by any means is maybe 1.5 mL.
tl;dw? How much do these cost?
I couldn’t find an exact number, but the goal seems to be to make it cheap
Santos says targeting the hospitality industry at large, including bars, pubs, clubs and other party venues where drinks flow freely, means patrons can have access to a simple drug testing tool for “every removedtail on every table.”
“The idea is that it’ll be completely ubiquitous,” she said. “Every drink leaving the bar will have a stick in it. Every drink will be stirred, every drink will be tested, every drink will be safe.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubc-stir-stick-spiked-drinks-1.7495753
