A 22-year-old young woman who was drugged without her knowledge twice in less than a year in Montreal bars is sounding the alarm for measures to be taken to fight this scourge that has persisted for years.
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“You have to realize that it exists, that it’s everywhere and ask yourself the question as a society: what are we doing?, protests Rozana Ryan. At the end of the day, it sucks that it’s always up to the girls to protect themselves.”
- Listen to another testimony from a 19-year-old young woman at the microphone of Benoit Dutrizac via :
This young student from the University of Montreal agreed to tell her story to the Journal in hopes of limiting the number of victims who might suffer the same fate as her.
Rozana Ryan had her first ordeal at a university party last April. Only 15 minutes following having had her first drink at the bar, she found herself in the bathroom, dazed.
Photo courtesy of Rozana Ryan
Rozana Ryan, a 22-year-old Montrealer who was unknowingly drugged twice in less than a year in Montreal bars, is sounding the alarm for action to be taken to combat this scourge that has persisted for years.
“For 1h30, I remained lying on the ground. Finally, one of my friends found me, we went outside and she managed to bring me home, she recalls. I mightn’t even walk. I’ve just pass out.»
Although she was troubled by her experience, Rozana Ryan preferred to move on.
sad deja vu
Less than a year later, last Friday, history repeated itself by going to a bar on rue Beaubien. At the very end of the evening, when the effects of the alcohol had largely dissipated, Rozana Ryan took a “shot” offered by a group of boys, without being wary of it.
“I went outside, I had a conversation with two of my friends for like fifteen minutes, she summarizes. I remember that it starts to be blurry and following, it is the total blackout.
It was thanks to the help of those around her that she remained safe.
“I immediately recognized the signs [d’intoxication] when I saw Rozie, she was not able to speak, she was completely limp”, indicates her friend Andrea Bélair Arreola, who was able to take care of her and was also drugged without her knowledge in the past.
“The next day, I wake up in a panic, not knowing where I was, who I was with. My heart was struggling, ”describes the one who says she is relieved that an ill-intentioned individual has not taken advantage of her sad state.
Furious, Rozana’s father, former city councilor Richard Ryan, denounced his daughter’s nightmare on social networks.
“How can young men, not much older than her, think of making such gestures? What might possibly be going through their heads? And how others boys next can let it happen without reacting, ”he writes.
During her two poisonings, Rozana Ryan preferred not to alert the police, as acquaintances who had suffered similar situations had negative experiences by turning to the authorities.
Portrait difficult to define
Although the scourge of GHB, also called the “date-rape drug”, is well known to everyone, it is still difficult today to establish the seriousness of its scope, indicates Jean-Sébastien Fallu, professor at the School of Psychoeducation of the University of Montreal.
Courtesy
Jean-Sébastien Fallu, professor at the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal.
“Confirmation by biological tests is difficult to obtain, that’s the problem, explains the drug addiction expert, recalling that GHB is a natural substance present in our organism. After 12 to 24 hours, it is difficult to distinguish abnormal levels from normal levels in the human body.
The lack of “reliable data” might mean that there is little mass awareness of the issue, agrees Professor Fallu.
“Probably it harms, indeed”, slices the expert.