Mass. bill would require test strips for spiked drinks, hospital checks
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Bar patrons in Massachusetts typically don't have access to test strips to spot illegally spiked drinks — and they might not get tested at the hospital if they are drugged.
- A group of survivors and a state lawmaker want to change that.
Why it matters: Boston-area patrons, especially women, have reported being drugged in recent years with little to no resolution in sight.
Between the lines: Survivors say they've been to hospitals only to be denied a drug test because they didn't show signs of being sexually assaulted — a decision that makes it even harder for police to prove a drink was spiked and track down suspects.
State of play: A proposal by Sen. Paul Feeney, a Foxborough Democrat, would authorize the Department of Public Health to make hospitals test people suspected of being drugged upon request, even if they haven't been sexually assaulted.
- The bill would also require the state alcohol commission to mandate the sale of test strips at venues, a rule they unsuccessfully tried to impose through DPH.
- It would also create a task force focusing on illegal drink spiking responses and interventions within DPH to study regulations for patient access to care after such an incident.
What they're saying: Ilana Katz Katz, a Boston resident who was drugged while at the Sinclair Music Hall in 2022, says she wants to see test strips and even drink lids available at bars, similar to what's now required in California.
- "I feel like anything that could help someone not get drugged and raped in our communities throughout the commonwealth, we're responsible for that," she tells Axios.
Zoom in: Feeney says the bill could help make venues safer and ensure people whose drinks get spiked can prove it and get the care they need at their local hospital.
- Representatives for Cambridge Health Alliance, Tufts Medical Center and Mass General Brigham said their emergency rooms do not have any specific policies in place regarding testing for drink spiking.
- Michael Morrison, an MGB spokesperson, said in a statement that health care workers "partner with each individual patient to determine the most appropriate approach and develop an individualized diagnostic and treatment plan."
- Morrison said that's because of limitations on available testing methods and because each patient may present symptoms differently.
Context: This bill comes after lawmakers allocated $300,000 in the fiscal 2024 budget to fund test strips and a public awareness campaign, but it hasn't all come to fruition.
- The Department of Public Health spent the public awareness funding, rolling out a campaign on June 30.
- The department hasn't spent the other half after filing a report saying test strips' efficacy has "no evidence base."
- DPH also raised concerns that tests often only detect certain substances and have a "high likelihood of false positives and false negatives," referring to a 2013 article.
Instead, DPH concluded, the substance used most often to make it easier to sexually assault someone is alcohol itself.
- Now, the public awareness campaign is focusing on encouraging staff and fellow customers to intervene.
Yes, but: Survivors like Katz Katz say they still want the option to use test strips and similar tools.
- "This isn't just something that happens in alcohol. This happens in a cup of coffee, in a bottle of water in an Uber," she says.
What we're watching: Lawmakers have another year to take up this bill before Beacon Hill hits the reset button and starts a new legislative session.