Amid increased reports of drinks being spiked on nights out, radio presenter Lottie Ryan has opened up about her experience with being spiked while enjoying a night out with her sister, Bonnie.
While speaking on The Jennifer Zamparelli Show recently, Lottie revealed that both she and her sister Bonnie were spiked while out in Dublin ten years ago.
“It happened to me and my sister on the same night”, she shared.
“It happened on a night out many moons ago and I’ll pre-empt that, not that I should have to, by saying that I’m not a big drinker.”
Lottie then continued, “I’m a cheap date and I know how much alcohol I can handle and it’s not very much. I go out on the dancefloor and I’m sweating to bits by the end of the night, that’s what I do on a night out.
“So, I went out with my sister and a couple of friends and we were dancing, and I wasn’t as cautious as I should have been with my drink. In hindsight, I’m so annoyed with myself for doing it and I should have known better at the time, but my drink wasn’t far away from me.”
Before adding: “It was on the floor beside me and in the moment, I must have thought it was fine and it wasn’t a big deal but clearly it wasn’t fine.”
Recalling the event further, Lottie continued, “So, I went from being a little bit buzzy, sober, to being the drunkest I’ve ever been in my life within the space of ten minutes. I knew something was wrong instantly because I couldn’t speak.
“I was having clear thoughts, but I couldn’t verbalise and I remember looking at my sister and she did not look good and I thought to myself, she looks the way I feel. Something is after happening here. Something is not good, something is not right.”
Lottie then shared: “I felt like I couldn’t speak, and I felt there was something coming over me. I know that we had to get out of there and go home ASAP.”
“I was scared as to how quickly it was happening, so I grabbed Bonnie and left immediately, didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Left out coats in the cloakroom because something was very, very wrong.”
Lottie also shared how quickly the effects began, saying, “From the door of the nightclub to the taxi, I could feel my legs going. I can’t describe how quickly this happened, it was so quick. I was holding onto the wall and there were people laughing at us because they obviously thought we were completely locked.
“Bonnie was very sick. I was with her the whole time. We both woke up the next morning and both of us were like what in god’s name happened to us?”
Currently, this is a wide-spread talked about topic in Ireland and the UK. It is being reviewed how a campaign around the warning of the possibility of being spiked in Ireland is being planned, with the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris recently meeting the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to hear their concerns.