BOZEMAN — Summers in Bozeman call for outings and events in downtown. But with those outings comes safety concerns, especially when it comes to alcohol.
“People often are being served stronger than what their used to so that’s what we see a lot when we talk about druggings,” said Emily Mangas, forensic nurse program coordinator at Bozeman Health for the past two years.
She works with people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, and maltreatment and says the term “roofied” has morphed into a catch all word that is used for any drug slipped into their drink or having too much to drink.
“I think because we’ve just called it roofing for so long that everyone just equates if they’ve had an excessive amount of alcohol intentionally or unintentionally or have had something else put into their drinks,” said Mangas.
Bozeman Police Captain Dana McNeil agrees.
“The real important takeaway from this concern is that alcohol is the number one date rape drug; it is the number one drug used to facilitate sexual assault,” he said.
But many people in the Bozeman community believe they’ve been roofied, which Mangas says specifically refers to two drugs: Rohyphnol and Gamma-Hydroxybutryate or GHB.
Pamela Leach is the administrator for Bozeman Roofie Watch on Facebook, a page with over 400 members where people post the date they believe they were roofied, identify the bars and bartender, and any other information about their experience.
In a statement, Leach says “…it was essential that victims had safety to report, discuss and get support.”
McNeil says police encourage people to report any safety concerns.
“We investigate things, oftentimes it is determined to be nothing suspicious, but we want to know so please do report,” he said.
Mangas also says that keeping an eye on signs of a potential roofie and excess alcohol intake is important.
“It can look like feeling more intoxicated than normal or having a different reaction to alcohol that’s not normal for you. It can look like dizziness, it can look like blackout, it can look like loss of memory…” said Mangas.
Mangas encourages people go to the emergency room and contact law enforcement if they think they’ve been drugged.
