Drink Safe Technology, the company that produces coasters that test for date-rape drugs, recently has faced national criticism with accusations saying that the coasters are ineffective.
According to Drink Safe, a person can test his or her drink for Rohypnol, Ketamine and GHB by placing a small amount of liquid on the coaster. If the drink is contaminated, the coaster will change color.
Northwestern officials have said no plans exist to implement the coasters on campus, but Associated Student Government has made a recent push that rape whistles be offered to students.
The controversy surrounding the coasters, which have been purchased in bulk by more than 68 universities, began last month when the Associated Press reported a Michigan State University Police crime lab in East Lansing, Mich., tested the coasters and discovered they failed to react to spiked drinks.
Francisco Guerra, the company’s president and co-founder, said representatives from Michigan State Police did not accurately test the coasters and he expects a retraction statement sometime this week.
“(The crime lab) admits that they didn’t follow simple instructions,” Guerra said.
Michigan State representatives could not comment on the situation.
Guerra maintains that his company’s coasters are an effective safety precaution but said “there is no substitution for common sense.”
National drug consultant and retired Los Angeles Police Department Det. Trinka Porrata said her experiments with the coasters have shown they fail to react to some of the most commonly used date-rape drugs.
“On the (company’s) Web site, it says your drink is safe if there is not a color change,” she said. “But if you pressure them, they’ll admit that it only identifies Ketamine and GHB.”
Porrata said another problem with the coasters is that they do not test for analogs, or chemical cousins, to the drugs that the coasters test for.
“They’ve given the false (perception) that it tests for any drug,” she said.
More than 36 drugs, some that can be bought legally, can be used for date rape, according to Porrata.
“It’s fraud the way they present (coasters) that detect illicit drugs,” she said.
The makers of the product claim that the coasters are more than 95 percent accurate if used properly and carefully.
But Porrata maintains her skepticism.
“Ninety-five percent accurate for what?” she said. “Only Ketamine and real GHB. That’s a tiny portion of what’s out there and what’s used. (The coasters) are a dangerous hoax that make you think your drink is safe.”
But Drink Safe co-founder Brian Glover, a dentist involved with the scientific aspect of the product, said the two drugs used most often in a drink are GHB and Ketamine, based on extensive research by experts.
To make it clear to consumers the coasters do not test for all drugs, Glover said Drink Safe is in the process of changing its packaging.
“We’re getting people more aware (of date rape),” he said. “That alone has been a success. We’re not in this business to get rich and retire in Tahiti.”
Although the Drug Enforcement Administration has not performed any tests on the coasters, spokesman David Jacobson said regardless of the coasters’ accuracy, they recommend people use them with caution.
“You’re not going to want to put your sole safety in one coaster,” Jacobson said. “You should rely on common sense, having people watch your drink and not leaving your drinks alone.”
