Confronting photo of young tourists exposes soaring global problem
The worrying trend is nothing new, but people all over the world are sounding the alarm for women in particular to remain on alert.
A confronting photograph allegedly depicting the aftermath of a double drink spiking at one of the world's most sought-after travel hotspots has highlighted the shocking resurgence of the common crime. It comes as recent statistics revealed reports of drink spiking hit an all-time high by the end of 2023 in Australia's most populous state.
This week, the shocking image of two young US university students passed out with their heads bowed on a pool bar countertop went viral, showing friends Zara Hull and friend Kaylie Pitze holding hands as they lay limp across from one another, beside their drinks at a resort in Cancun, Mexico.
Hull told CBS she was enjoying a pool day with her friend and boyfriend Jake Sinder when she asked for water at the bar. Merely moments later, she was "unable to lift her head" and "started having seizing compulsions".
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"We both got water and within two minutes, Jake had turned around and we both hit the bar, heads down at the same time," Hull told CBS News from hospital. "When I tell you, I have never felt like that in my life. I was so heavy to the point where I could not lift up my head or anything. All of a sudden, I started having these seizing compulsions."
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Hull was quickly rushed to a private hospital. The American said she and her boyfriend were the only ones in a hospital with hundreds of rooms, and she said she was stung with a huge bill for treatment. "At this point, they have sedated me so much that I do not know where I am, I have not woken up, I don’t know anything. They put a catheter in me, they had put a ventilator in," she said.
"They had increased the money they wanted. The baseline was $US10,000 (A$15,200) for them to even look at me," Hull said. "They were holding me captive. We’re college students; we don’t have the money they’re asking for." Thirty hours later they secured a private plane to Dallas where Hull has been hospitalised since Saturday. Hull claims to have suffered from at least 18 convulsions since the incident. The college student now says she requires physiotherapy to learn how to walk again.
Drinking spiking a growing problem, data suggests
Drink spiking, while highly illegal and often deadly, is a common occurrence around the world and in Australia.
In NSW alone, between July 2022 and June 2023, 220 drink spiking incidents were reported to police.
Almost half of these reports occurred in the state's biggest city centres, including in Sydney's CBD, Newcastle, Wollongong, and the Central Coast. Some 71 per cent of incidents happened at a pub or club, yet very few incidents resulted in legal action. Shockingly, just two of the 183 reports lodged in the 2021-22 financial year (1.1 per cent) resulted in criminal proceedings, according to police.
Rohypnol (known as 'roofie') and gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) are the most commonly known "date-rape" drugs used for drink spiking. Both can be used to commit physical and sexual assaults as they're known to sedate or incapacitate a victim, making them more vulnerable to attack.
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