Fifteen-year-old Samantha Reid left for the movies on Jan. 16, 1999, with a group of friends. The date-rape drug GHB, gamma hydroxybutyrate, was slipped into her soft drink. She was taken to the hospital with no vital signs and died after 18 hours on life support.
Reid’s mother, Judi Clark, commissioner of the Michigan Women’s Commission, will give a presentation tonight on the dangers of the drug and other “club drugs.” The presentation will be at 7 p.m. in Union Parlors B and C.
Representatives from the Michigan Department of Community Health and Michigan State Police also will make presentations. The presentation is sponsored by Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Delta and Sigma Kappa sororities.
Megan Moore, a member of Kappa Delta sorority who helped coordinate the presentation, said it’s important to educate students, who may be more susceptible to date-rape drugs.
“I personally have never encountered it, but I know people who have,” the social relations and psychology senior said. “It’s a frightening thing because it does happen on campus. We are reinforcing it before spring break because sometimes you don’t know who you’re with and who your friends are.”
Jim McBryde, special assistant for drug policy at the Michigan Department of Community Health, said the drug does not correspond to body weight like other drugs.
“You don’t know how much GHB will kill you,” McBryde said. “Samantha Reid’s best friend consumed a similar amount of GHB the night Samantha died, but slipped into a coma and survived. I think she weighed about 35 pounds less than Samantha did.”
McBryde will also discuss how people should approach drinking on spring break.
“People need to watch their own drinks and their friends’ drinks,” he said. “We strongly suggest if you have a drink in your hand and you need to leave it to go to the bathroom or something, you should not drink the same drink when you come back. Leave it and buy a new one.”
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, Ketamine, Methamphetamine and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity.
McBryde said people vacationing in or near Mexico need to be especially careful because Rohypnol is legally sold as a sleep aid there.
Angela Ripinski, a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority who helped coordinate the presentation, said with spring break coming, her sorority members are concerned about precautions people should take.
“It kind of brings back the feeling that it can happen to you,” the social relations senior said. “A lot of people say it can’t happen to me, but it happened to (Reid) and her mom does a good job of bringing it to reality.”
