Tech companies step in to stop date rape

• The number of drug-induced date rapes in the U.S. appear to be on the increase, although there are not absolute numbers, according to the Department of Justice. The West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information Services asserts that “75% of acquaintance rape involve drugs or alcohol.” And, in a 2015 study of one hospital, 33% of sexual assault cases involved date rape drugs given without the victim’s knowledge.

Numerous companies are offering devices to detect a contaminated drink. They market straws, drink stirrers, coasters, and strip tests, among other products, to test on the spot whether their drinks have been spiked with drugs.

• The SipChip is a quarter-sized plastic chip that operates like a pregnancy test, but screens for six different common date rape drugs.
• You place a drop of liquid on the chip (or submerge it in your drink) and get the result in as little as 30 seconds. The appearance of two pink lines mean your drink is good; one tells you it’s been spiked.
• The products aren’t perfect. They’re single-use, have an expiration date, and don’t say what exactly (or how much) is in your drink.

Between the lines: Drug detection products, despite their flaws, are especially helpful when you have a pretty short timeframe to handle the situation of being drugged. When it happened to me in college, for example, the cocktail of drugs that was slipped into my drink wouldn’t leave my system for 72 hours. That’s longer than usual, the doctor told me.”