Cops Warn Bar-Goers After Drugged Drink Claims Spike In MA

BOSTON — The fear of someone "roofying" a drink is more present than ever across the Bay State as dozens of victims over the past few months claim they've had their drinks spiked at various bars throughout Massachusetts.

It's gotten to the point where Boston, Cape Cod, and Salem police have issued community alerts warning bargoers to keep a watchful eye on their drinks while they're just out trying to have a good time.

Barnstable police have even issued a warning not to share vapes with anyone while out in public as they might be able to lace the vapor cartridges with date rape drugs as well.

The recent cases have caused both massive fear and outrage across various social media sites including TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. There's even a Facebook page called 'Booze in Boston' that is a forum dedicated to sharing stories of date rape drugs happening in more than 70 bars in and around Boston.

From April 10 to June 4, Boston police told the Boston Globe in a public record request that they have received nearly a dozen reports of people claiming to have been drugged by a drink at a club or bar.

But the fear doesn't stop at drinks and vapes. A 27-year-old woman from the Cape who wished not to be identified told Patch she was out for a night out with a couple of girlfriends when she received an alert on her phone saying that Apple AirPods were following her.

She told Patch she thought it was a mistake and continued on to the next bar with her friends where she said the notification alerted her again. The woman said she searched but couldn't find AirPods anywhere on her. This alarmed her to the point where she clung to a male friend of hers for the remainder of the night and slept at a friend's house so she couldn't be traced back to her home.

This comes after a Boston woman filed a report with police when she received an alert saying an Apple AirTag had been following her back in April.

According to Apple, only iPhone users will receive an alert informing users that an unknown device is following them. That alert can also come at any time once the device has been detected - meaning it could be minutes, even hours before a person could know they're being followed. Even though Apple has an AirTag app for Android phones, it will not send a tracking notification to Android users.

Dr. Matthew Mostofi, an emergency medicine physician at Tufts Medical Center told the Globe that drink spiking has long been a problem in Boston, but it's currently unclear whether cases are actually rising or not, adding that toxicology screens at emergency departments typically don't test for common date rape drugs.

This widespread fear has caused bars across the state to be on high alert. Scholars in Boston posted a statement on Instagram saying, "We might not be able to control what preditors are doing in Boston; however, we are able to control that our female patrons feel safe while they are in Scholars and more importantly feel safe enough to come to us for help if something does happen."

Scholars is also offering lids for cups, and other bars around the city are offering the same. There are other ways to check if your drink may have been spiked as well, including color-changing nail polish and coasters that you can purchase here.

Boston police are also asking anyone who feels they may have been a victim of a date rape drug attack to contact them immediately.