Any woman who has ever been to a party or a bar knows to be wary about leaving her drink unattended due to the chance that somebody might spike it with drugs of some kind. The phenomenon is much more than just an urban legend.
Researchers who interviewed university students discovered that 7.8% of them had personally experienced the consequences of a spiked drink. Further, 1.4% actually admitted that they or someone they knew had spiked someone else’s drink at least once.
Why do people spike a drink with drugs? Obviously, it can be done to take advantage of someone once they’re in an incapacitated state, but it also is done as an act of petty revenge or a joke. After all, “spiking the punch” at the holiday office party, family gathering or school dance is routinely played for laughs in popular media and movies.
There’s nothing funny about what can happen
In Ohio, spiking a drink with drugs is no laughing matter. In fact, “corrupting another with drugs” is treated as a felony. Depending on where it happens, what drugs are used, who ends up ingesting the drugs and whether or not they suffer any serious injuries, the crime can even be a felony in the first degree. In any situation, a conviction will result in mandatory prison time and significant fines.
If you’ve been charged with a drug crime of any kind, the wisest thing you can do is to invoke your right to remain silent and say nothing further until you can fully explore your defense options.