“Go as a group, do not risk it” exclaimed Emily Dafoe, class of 2022, talking about the newest way people drug young girls.

People lacing drinks with a clear and unnoticeable substance to the consumer has been around for a while, but what some people are not as aware of is the uprising method of laced needles that are almost as thin as hair. 

It has become dangerously easy for anyone targeting a female or male to prick them with a needle that is not usually felt or noticed until detrimental symptoms start kicking in. These symptoms include numbness or even unconsciousness. 

“I would never choose to go alone to any event without knowing that there is someone I could go to if I felt uncomfortable,” said Dafoe.

Dafoe is not the only one that feels like this.

Numerous reports of the “lucky” victims, in the sense that there was someone there to get them to the hospital, have consisted of young women being rushed to the emergency room after a night out. What they found was a consistent reaction within the separate cases consisting of bruising along the area of, what is projected to be, the incision of the needle.

“It is scary knowing that we may not even know if it happens to us until the symptoms start kicking in,” says Mia Boggs, class of 2022.

According to “Needle Spiking of Women in Britain Stirs Alarm Over New Kind of Assault,” New York Times journalist, Megan Specia, says that students that had been laced were in need of a walking stick from not being able to hold themselves up

“It can happen anywhere. I have been followed in a mall before and will never forget how scared I felt,” says Dafoe. 

As you can see, both these girls share the same concern of comfortability in being out in public. It is sad that doing normal everyday activities can still place anyone in an unsettled state of mind.

“It is a problem in every woman’s life. Hopefully, this will not be something that escalates in the future but I have a feeling that it is not going to go away,” explains Boggs. 

The best thing is being aware of the situation, always going places with large crowds with someone you know, and always staying aware of your own surroundings.

Like Dafoe said, do not risk it.  

If you want to become more educated on the topic, visit some of these outside link sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/world/europe/needle-spiking-uk.html

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southwest/astroworld-reports-raise-concern-of-needle-spiking/