Ahead of the reopening of nightclubs on February 16, Marlène Schiappa unveiled the outlines of a campaign to fight against this drug, which is wreaking havoc in the nightlife world.
It’s a drug that was democratized only a few years ago. Classified as a narcotic in 1999, GHB has been rampant in Parisian nightclubs since the late 2010s.date rape drugit takes the form of a powder or liquid, colorless and odorless, easy to slip discreetly into a glass, which provides disinhibiting effects and memory loss. Faced with this scourge, the testimonies of victims, drugged without their knowledge, are multiplying on social networks and in the media.
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So much so that on the eve of the reopening of the discotheques, on February 16, closed for more than two months because of the Covid-19, Marlène Schiappa revealed to the Parisian a major national plan to combat GHB. “This is a first in France“, welcomed the Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship. “On social networks, there are many calls for help. We want to get drug victims out of loneliness without their knowledge, we must reverse the shame“, she argued with our colleagues.
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Posters and samples
This action will first take the form of a prevention campaign, with orange posters posted in clubs and bars in France. It will include the questions “Has your friend been drugged?», «Do you think you were drugged?», with a QR code referring to a «instant chat with a gendarme or a policeman“. “No matter the time, the free chat can be activated day and night, without disclosing its identity“, specifies Marlène Schiappa, who collaborates on this campaign with the interministerial mission against drugs and the Union of trades and industries of the Hotel industry (Umih).
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Another concrete measure announced by the minister: the police will have to systematically take toxicological samples from the alleged victim who would be taken unconscious to the hospital. “The effect of GHB is quite close to a hangover. Often, we say to ourselves “I must have drunk too much”, but many do not know that they have been drugged.“, justifies Marlène Schiappa to the Parisian. DNA samples and the isolation of clothing will also become the rule, in order to more easily confuse the possible attacker, who risks five years in prison and a 75,000 euro fine.
Local initiatives
At the local level, initiatives are also developing to try to curb the phenomenon. Thus, the Paca region announced on Tuesday that it would provide 400,000 anti-drug glass lids to bars in the region in the coming months. The goal : “Supporting catering and night-time professionals, as well as youth associations involved in prevention in the evenings“, specifies Renaud Muselier in a press release, relayed by Var Morning . “This simple device adapts to all glasses, making it impossible to add any substance“, adds the president of the Paca region. Some 60,000 lids will be sent in March and April, in partnership with the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih), explain our colleagues.
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Citizen initiatives are also emerging, such as anti-rapist drug varnishes, which make the nails change color on contact with the molecule, evokes The Parisian. More recently, avirtuous strawwas launched by five students from Nantes. “It changes from light yellow to dark green when there is GHB“Explains two of them to the Ile-de-France daily. In Le Mans, two students also want to set up self-defense courses and discussion groups for women drugged without their knowledge, reports Actu.fr.