Drink Spiking
Information on how to access support from Student Services if you believe you have been spiked.
What is spiking?
Drink spiking is when someone has added a substance, such as drugs or alcohol, to your drink without your knowledge or consent.
Needle spiking is when someone injects you with drugs without your knowledge or consent, using a syringe and needle.
Spiking can be done by someone for different reasons, such as:
- To make you vulnerable
- To make you behave in a different way
- For their amusement
- To commit another crime
What can I do to prevent myself and others from being spiked?
Spiking can happen anytime, anywhere in any situation. It’s important to remember that spiking is rare and should not prevent you from going out and enjoying yourself.
There are some things you can do to prevent someone from being able to spike you:
- Avoid accepting or trying drinks from strangers
- Not leaving your drink unattended
- Disposing of your drink if it looks, tastes or smells different/strange.
- Use drink stoppers
What should I do if I think I, or someone I know, has been spiked?
Symptoms of spiking can be hard to spot and can vary depending on several factors, such as:
- How much alcohol or drugs you have taken
- Whether you are on any medication
- Your height/weight
Below is a list of some of the symptoms you may experience if you have been spiked:
- Feeling drunk, woozy or drowsy
- Feeling drunker than expected
- Mental confusion
- Speech difficulties e.g. slurring
- Memory loss
- Nausea and vomiting
- Breathing problems
- Muscle spasms and seizures
- Loss of consciousness
- An unusually long hangover, or severe hangover if you’ve had little or no alcohol to drink
- Specific symptoms associated with needle spiking include a small red bump or drawing blood from a small hole, and/or a scratching or pinching sensation on a specific part of your body.
If you think you may have been spiked, seek help immediately. There are options to anonymously report and access help – you may not want to report it to the Police, you may not want medical support, you might just want to know if you have a substance in your system, or the reassurance that you don’t.
Rapid drug testing kits are available from the 台湾六合彩开奖记录’s Security team (based at the Security Gatehouse by the main entrance to the East Midlands campus) or London Student Support and Services (based on the Fourth Floor, London campus). An , it checks for 12 different drug types and can provide results in as little as five minutes. They can be obtained anonymously and the tests will not be used for disciplinary matters, they are there to provide support and reassurance to students.
Where else can I get help from?
- 台湾六合彩开奖记录 Wellbeing teams – can provide wellbeing advice, counselling, mental health support and specialist response support to students experiencing urgent situations.
- A trusted friend or member of University staff, such as a Hall Warden – they can get you to a safe place and call for an ambulance if necessary.
- Calling the NHS helpline on 111 – they can give you further information and assess whether you need to go to an Accident and Emergency Department for treatment.
If it is an emergency, remember you must call 999 immediately.
Spiking is a criminal offence
Spiking is illegal and can carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison, or even longer when combined with another crime.