Updated
A Hobart woman who collapsed after a suspected drink spiking at an end-of-year work celebration says she thought she was going to die.
Key points:
- The Hobart mum believes her drink was spiked at a bar in Salamanca Place
- Experts said that reports of drink spiking have increased during the Christmas period
- They urge people to report incidents, so more data can be gathered about how often it occurs
In an emotional video posted on Facebook, Ms Marmion said she was so terrified during the incident she asked her husband to tell her children she loved them.
Mandy Marmion was in Salamanca Place, one of Hobart’s popular nightspots, for a work function when the incident occurred.
Ms Marmion, a mother of two, said she had a couple of drinks at dinner and believes a drink was then spiked at a bar about 11:30 pm on Saturday.
She said that after “a couple of sips of my wine” her vision and mobility were affected.
Ms Marmion was able to leave the bar and phone her husband Adam, a paramedic.
“I just remember begging him to help me,” she said in the post.
Soon after she collapsed she was helped by St John Ambulance crew, before her husband arrived.
She was then overcome by a panic attack.
“I thought I was going to die,” she said.
“I remember saying to Adam … to tell my girls I loved them.”
Ms Marmion, who has a bruised eye, sought medical help on Sunday morning and is reporting the incident to police.
She urged others to be aware of the dangers.
“I didn’t do anything wrong — I didn’t leave my drink, I was in a nice place, bright lights.”
Ms Marmion has received messages of support on social media, with others saying they had experienced similar incidents in Hobart.
Another said she saw Ms Marmion being helped after the incident.
Festive season is rife for drink spiking
Paul Dillon from the Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) said reports of drink spiking increased during the Christmas period.
“We do see spikes in reporting of drink spiking at certain times, and the festive season is one of those,” he said.
According to DARTA, the most common ways drinks are spiked is by adding more alcohol.
Mr Dillon said that while most reports of spiked drinks come from venues, it was more common to have a drink spiked at a house, or private party, where there are not as many bystanders to witness it.
“When it comes to drug-facilitated sexual assault, or drug-facilitated robbery, where spiking is used it tends to be when the person has gone back to someone else’s home or have brought them back to their own home,” he said.
“That way they can’t get away and they’re not going to be observed.”
Mr Dillon urged people to report incidents so data can be gathered on how often it occurs and what is being used in drink spiking.
“If you believe your drink has something placed in it take it with you … to get it tested. All the evidence we can get is really important.”
If you need support, call 1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Topics: crime, health, hobart-7000, tas, launceston-7250
First posted