Woman believes drink was spiked at Legal Sea Foods in Boston
BOSTON - Massachusetts State Police are investigating after a woman believes her drink was spiked at a popular Boston restaurant. Jamie Brotsky tells WBZ she was at Legal Harborside, the Seaport branch of Legal Sea Foods, when she started to feel symptoms.
Brotsky had been at nearby Octoberfest with friends and "had a few beers," she said. Her friends wanted to go home, and she went to Legal Harborside for a bite of food, sitting alone at the bar.
She says she was drinking water when she started to feel symptoms. "It's terrifying when you feel like you're losing control," she said. This isn't the first time Brotsky had been roofied, she said. "My brain was just going 'ding ding ding ding' like I knew that I had been - something was slipped into my drink."
Legal Sea Foods launches investigation
State Police are investigating, and Legal Sea Foods told WBZ it is launching its own investigation. "We are taking this matter very seriously and immediately launched an investigation and contacted the guest," a spokesperson wrote. "Our guests' safety and security are always our number one priority."
Brotsky was happy the restaurant contacted her and appeared to take the allegation seriously. "The woman on the phone truly and sincerely, was so apologetic and wanted to make sure I was OK," she said.
Facebook group offers "safe space"
Brotsky's story took off online due to a TikTok she posted. Stories of allegations of drink spiking have taken off online, specifically in the 15,000 person group "Booze in Boston," started by local Melanie Hubbard. "We all deserve to feel safe and happy in our public places," Hubbard told WBZ.
The Facebook group is "hopefully a safe space, where people can go to share their story, anonymously or not anonymously to bring attention to the topic," she said.
"Roofies," as they're known, a part of a category of benzodiazepines known for being a date rape drug. "It's very concentrated and comes in a clear liquid...tasteless, odorless, because it's concentrated," explained Emergency Medicine Dr. Nadine Youssef of Tufts Medical Center. "It's really strong so you only need a little bit to get an effect."
Not tested for in most emergency rooms
However, if you go to the hospital - which, in this case, Brotsky did not - you likely won't be tested for the drug. It's not in the rotation of routine tests performed in most emergency rooms, Dr. Youssef explained, because of how rare the drug is. "It would have to be a special kind of state laboratory test, which is very hard to do and send out an actually get done," she said. Plus, the drug metabolizes quickly and therefore can be hard to detect within even hours of ingesting it.
Still, if you or a loved one suspect you may have been drugged, Dr. Youssef says you should never be alone. "You should be with someone and if that someone is worried about your ability to stay awake or to not throw up and aspirate, then you should be in a medical setting where we can keep a close eye on you and make sure you're safe," she said.
