What Schoolies Need to Know About Drink Spiking

Schoolies is a huge milestone. You’ve finished Year 12, you’re away with your friends, and after months of exams and deadlines, it’s finally time to celebrate.

For many school leavers, it’s also the first time being away from home with friends, navigating busy venues, parties and unfamiliar surroundings without parents nearby.

That freedom is part of what makes Schoolies so exciting. But it also makes knowing how to look after yourself and your mates important.

One thing worth talking about before you go is drink spiking.

Not because you should spend Schoolies worrying about every drink you’re handed, but because knowing what to look for and what to do can make a real difference if something doesn’t feel right.

First, what actually counts as spiking?

Drink spiking is when alcohol or another substance is added to someone’s drink without their knowledge or consent.

And despite the name, it doesn’t only happen to alcoholic drinks. Water, soft drinks and other non-alcoholic drinks can also be tampered with.

Spiking can also involve giving someone more alcohol than they agreed to or expected.

Most importantly, spiking can happen to anyone.

It isn’t only something young women need to think about. Young men can be targeted too, and everyone at Schoolies has a role to play in looking out for their friends.

Know what feeling “too drunk” can look like

One of the difficulties with recognising possible spiking is that many of the symptoms can look very similar to intoxication.

Someone may suddenly become:

• unusually dizzy or unsteady
• extremely sleepy
• confused or disoriented
• nauseous or vomiting
• unable to communicate normally
• much more intoxicated than expected for what they have consumed
• unable to remember parts of the night

The biggest thing to pay attention to is a sudden or unexpected change.

If your friend has had one or two drinks and suddenly seems dramatically more affected than they should be, don’t simply assume they’re drunk.

Take it seriously.

If your friend suddenly seems wrong, stay with them

Schoolies is one of those times when the buddy system genuinely matters.

If a friend tells you they feel strange, believe them.

Stay with them and move somewhere safer. Tell venue staff, security or another trusted person what is happening.

If they are becoming very drowsy, losing consciousness, having difficulty breathing, having a seizure, vomiting repeatedly or you are otherwise seriously concerned about their condition, call 000.

Don’t leave them alone to “sleep it off”.

And don’t let someone you don’t know take responsibility for them simply because they offer to help.

Your drink doesn’t have to leave your hand to be vulnerable

We often hear “never leave your drink unattended”, and it’s good advice.

But drink tampering doesn’t necessarily require someone to disappear with your drink.

Busy bars, parties, dance floors and crowds can create opportunities for something to be added quickly.

A few simple habits can help:

Keep your drink with you where possible. Watch drinks being poured or opened. Avoid accepting already-open drinks from people you don’t know or trust.

If you do put a drink down and you’re unsure what happened to it, getting another one is the safer option.

You can also use a drink cover such as a NightCap or StopTopps® to create a physical barrier over an open drink.

NightCap drink covers pack away inside a scrunchie or keychain, so they’re easy to take with you without carrying another bulky item.

Single-use StopTopps® can be placed over cups, glasses, cans and other drinking vessels up to 100mm in diameter.

Neither replaces keeping an eye on your drink, but they can add another layer of protection.

Drink testing can be another tool

If something about your drink doesn’t seem right, don’t keep drinking it.

Drink spiking test strips can provide another option when you’re concerned about a drink.

Safer Sips CYD drink spiking test strips screen for more than 650 amine-based substances, including drugs associated with drink spiking such as ketamine, GHB, cocaine, scopolamine and amphetamines.

It’s important to understand their limitations too.

No drink spiking test can detect every possible substance, and CYD strips do not screen for benzodiazepines. A negative result should never override how you or your friend is feeling.

If something feels wrong, stop drinking it and get help.

Have a plan before the first night out

You probably have plans for where you’re staying, what you’re wearing and where you’re going.

Add a five-minute safety conversation to the list.

Know where everyone is staying. Decide how you’ll get home. Keep phones charged. Share locations if your group is comfortable doing so. And agree that nobody gets left behind if they’re unwell or suddenly behaving out of character.

It doesn’t need to be dramatic.

It can simply be:

“If one of us says something feels wrong, we take it seriously.”

And guys, this includes you

Drink spiking isn’t a “women’s issue”.

Men can be victims of spiking, and young men can also play an enormous role in making Schoolies safer.

If one of your mates suddenly becomes extremely intoxicated, confused or unwell, don’t laugh it off.

If someone jokes about putting something in another person’s drink, call it out.

If you see behaviour that doesn’t look right, tell security or venue staff.

Looking out for your mates should extend beyond your own friendship group.

Schoolies should be memorable for the right reasons

Drink spiking prevention isn’t about telling young people not to go out, drink or have fun.

Schoolies should be fun.

It’s about giving young people practical tools and information so they can make their own decisions, recognise when something isn’t right and know how to respond.

Watch your drink. Look after your mates. Trust your instincts.

And if someone suddenly seems far more affected than they should be, take it seriously and get help.

Safer Schoolies with Safer Sips

Safer Sips provides practical drink safety products including CYD drink spiking test strips, NightCap reusable drink covers and StopTopps® single-use drink covers, alongside drink spiking education and awareness resources.

Because safer nights out shouldn’t mean less fun. They should mean having better tools, better information and looking out for each other.