A bipartisan bill would require Ohio bars and restaurants to have drink testing devices for date rape drugs.
Ohio Senators Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, and Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, introduced Ohio Senate Bill 348 earlier this year and gave sponsor testimony last week in the Ohio Senate Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee.
“This legislation is vital towards creating common-sense safety measures to ensure that Ohio’s nightlife and hospitality industry is safe for its patrons,” Blessing said.
The testing device would use test strips or something similar to detect any potential drugs in a drink. The test kits can detect at least 10 controlled substances — including ketamine, GHB, and Rohypnol — in less than five minutes.
“Within those five minutes, we can save someone from facing a lifetime of trauma,” Blessing said.
About 1 in 13 college students reported having a drink spiked at some point and about 15% of those who had their drink spiked reported a sexual assault happening afterward, according to a 2016 study from researchers at the University of South Carolina.
“This legislation empowers individuals to know whether their drink has been spiked, enabling them to better protect themselves and their peers,” DeMora said.
Bars and restaurants would be required to post a sign informing patrons about the availability of the testing kits.
“Having a sign in a bar that says we have these strips, it might stop some idiot from trying to do this,” DeMora said.
“Every Ohioan deserves to feel safe when they go out.”
The bill, however, does not have any penalties for not offering testing kits.
“A lot of this is up to the bar owner — how they want to implement this or not at all,” Blessing said.
The lawmakers argue people will feel safer going to a bar that has the testing strips.
“When customers feel safe, they’re more likely to come back and spend more at that business,” DeMora said.
An establishment could provide a drink testing device for free or charge a fee “not to exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost of those devices,” according to the bill’s language.
A single Think Twice drink test strip costs $1.49 per test.
A bar or restaurant would not be held liable for defective tests or inaccurate results, like false positives or negatives, according to the bill.
“The goal of this legislation is not to penalize bars and restaurants that play such an integral role in the Ohio hospitality scene; it is to make sure those patrons have a safe environment to enjoy Ohio’s bars and restaurants,” Blessing said.
Ohio Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, asked the bill’s sponsors if they thought about putting drink testing strips in vending machines.
“I love that idea,” Blessing said. “I mean, even if it’s not required, the fact that it’s there is a good thing.”
The Ohio Bar Owners Association has not yet taken an official position on the bill.
Executive Director Andy Herf supports the idea behind it, but has some issues with how the bill is written.
“The safety of the patrons is the main concern,” he said. “I think the spirit behind this is good.”
His primary issue with the bill is bars being unable to restock the drink testing strips if there is a distribution in the supply chain.
“We don’t want to get in trouble for not being able to comply,” Herf said.
Instead of being in bars, he would like to see drink testing strips available at university wellness centers.
California has mandatory drink testing strip requirements and requires establishments that serve alcohol to notify patrons that they have drink testing strips.