Drink spike victim urges: ‘Don’t take anything for granted’

As women in the community continue to express safety concerns, victims are being empowered to come forward to share their experiences with the hope of protecting others.

Harri is one such person; she escaped a potentially dangerous situation, due to the quick action of her friend.

She requested her full name and photo not be used for this article due to the nature of her story.

Harri’s drink was spiked a few months ago and, since then, she says she is very cautious when she’s out in the evening and she is urging others to do the same.

Evening drink ends in hospital visit

Unlike Oddy, Harri was not attacked physically, but what happened to her was something she said she never expected.

“I’d never thought that I’d be in danger going for a drink here, it’s just crazy,” she said.

Harri said she and her female friend were drugged after consuming a drink at a local watering hole along Seven Mile Beach.

She said they had a drink at one restaurant for Canada Day back in July and then they went to a second location.

“I’d never thought that I’d be in danger going for a drink here, it’s just crazy,

“The bar was basically empty because it was the afternoon… [We] sat down outside, had a drink, went back in, ordered another drink and came back out… I literally went from completely normal, able to speak, to couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk, nothing, within five minutes of having a sip of this drink,” she said.

Harri said her friend, who was also having a drink, became concerned, ordered a taxi and got in with her to take her home.

On the way back, she started feeling sick and began to vomit.

“I don’t remember any of it, to be honest. I don’t remember anything… but my husband called her after I’d been dropped home to check that she was ok because I was in such a state,” she said.

No memory the morning after

Harri said her friend left voicemails on her husband’s phone.

“She can barely speak. Her words are so slurred, as she’s saying, ‘Something’s wrong…We’ve been spiked.. This isn’t right.’ [She] instantly rang me in the morning saying ‘are you ok?’. And I was like, ‘what the hell happened last night? When did we get home? I don’t remember anything’,” she said.

She added the unnerving part was thinking what could have happened, had her friend not acted quickly and got them home.

“We had two drinks and we were comatose… that’s frightening,” she said, adding she shuddered to think about what might have happened, if she had been driving when the effects hit her and she’d crashed, harming herself or someone else.

Harri said she was disappointed in the way her situation was handled by medical staff, as she turned up at a private hospital to get tested and they told her she had to report to the public hospital.

When she got there, she had to wait several hours, when “time was of the essence”.

Eventually she was not tested, as the chances of detecting anything were low, given how much time had passed.

As she shared her experience with other women, she learned that others had similar stories.

Incidents under investigation

Police have confirmed two incidents are being investigated which indicate potential drink-spiking, however neither specify drink-spiking outright.

They are calling for victims like Harri to come forward, even if time has passed since the event.

They also shared tips on keeping safe while out.

Harri said she wants residents, not just women, to be cautious, as she has also heard of men’s drinks being spiked.

“I wasn’t just drunk, I know my limits… a drink and a half is not going to have me paralytic… something was wrong,” she recalled, stating she had posted about the incident and some commenters had questioned whether she had been drugged.

She said while you should cover your drinks or get them yourselves, there should be some accountability at local establishments to ensure customers are protected.

“I think it needs to be addressed. And I think it needs to be raised in a way that [the responsibility] is not just put on women,” she added.