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Bars And Nightclubs To Sell Drink-Testing Kits
A bartender mixing a drink at a bar.
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Spencer Platt
/
Getty Images
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Come July, bars and nightclubs in California must to offer patrons test kits so they can check their drinks for date rape drugs such as gamma hydroxybutyrate and ketamine. The drugs are often odorless, colorless, and tasteless even when mixed with a drink.
However, the test kits will not be offered for free. Entertainment venue owners can set a nominal price tag for the kits to their patrons.
Under the new law, AB-1013 — introduced by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach — bars and nightclubs also have to display a notice that the kits are available for sale.
The law states that the price should “not to exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost.”
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Long Beach launched its SipSafe Long Beach program in September. Businesses and organizations can apply for testing kits via a city website. According to the city’s police department, around 25 people are drugged annually while out at a restaurant or a bar.
In West Hollywood, the city council approved a partnership with Los Angeles LGBT Center WeHo Life program to purchase and distribute testing kits to businesses and patrons free of charge. From Oct. 1, 2022 till July 31, 2023, over 31,000 test kits have been distributed in the city.
A spokesperson for West Hollywood said despite the law going into effect, the city is still committed to purchasing and distributing the testing kits for now. Long Beach will continue to distribute the testing kits to businesses and restaurants for free while supplies last.
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