CREDIT: DRINKSAVVYINC.COM
If someone puts a date rape drug into your drink, the DrinkSavvy Glass will immediately provide a visible colour change to warn you to throw out your drink.

“I don't remember a thing from last night.”

It's one thing to say it after a wild night of drinking, but more often than not, young women (and men) say it because their drinks were spiked with drugs.

Thirty-one-year-old Mike Abramson experienced the effects of a date-rape drug a few years ago, celebrating a friend's birthday at a club in Boston.

“About halfway through, [my] first drink, it started to feel more like my 15th,” said Abramson. “One of the few things I remember after that is waking up with a massive headache and substantial nausea.”

Abramson was with friends who ensured he got home safely, however. “I was either the target of being robbed, or I mistakenly took a spiked drink that was meant for someone else,” he said.

But not all victims who fall prey to date-rape drugs are as lucky, and Abramson wanted to prevent future incidents.

Abramson, founder of DrinkSavvy Inc., has developed drinkware that detects drugs that are slipped into a drink. With the help of two professors from his alma mater, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, plastic cups, straws and glasses will be available to the public mid-2014.

Gary Deline, operations manager of The Out Back Shack on campus, said he would absolutely bring in DrinkSavvy products if cost weren't an issue. “We would have these implemented. Any prevention or safety precautions we can take [for our guests and students], there would be no issues of bringing them in.”

Currently, Deline is exploring options to keep students safe. “We've considered anti-date-rape coasters,” he said. “You're supposed to be able to put a drop of your drink on the coaster, and it would change colour to tell you.”

“I think the cups would be the most effective because you'd be able to tell immediately if there was something in your drink just by the colour of your cup,” said Deline. “It might be an issue when we're doing pub nights or having an event and it's dark and you can't see the cup.”

Abramson could not be reached again to comment on that statement.

Will high-tech drinkware ward off potential deviants and keep bar patrons safe?

“If there was a system in place that could potentially catch people drugging others, at our bar specifically, people would probably think twice about doing it,” Deline said. “I do believe that people would be a lot more cautious. It would drastically lower the percentage of somebody drugging someone in our bar.”

Regardless, it is best to take precaution at any establishment that serves alcohol.

“Go out with friends, be around people that you are comfortable with. Don't accept drinks from strangers, don't leave drinks unattended,” said Deline. “That way if something does happen, there's someone there at least to help you.”

For more information on DrinkSavvy products, go to drinksavvyinc.com.