More than 160,000 people have signed a petition calling for an urgent move to mandatory screenings in nightclubs after a spate of spikings nationwide.
Hannah Thompson, who lives in Glasgow, saw women sharing their experience of being injected with an unknown drug on nights out on the social media page Edinburgh Anonymous.
Terrified, the 24-year-old began researching what responsibility nightclubs and bars have for revellers and discovered that most do not even do checks on the doors.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I can wholeheartedly say I have never been searched entering a club.
‘Perhaps when I have been abroad or in London I have had my bag opened but I cannot remember ever being searched in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
‘Moreover, they were searching for booze or drugs, and they have always been more focused on looking at your ID.
‘What I am trying to achieve is stricter measures and a safer, more enjoyable and reassuring experience in a nightclub.
‘I just do not want anyone else to get hurt. It is a precaution, a preventive measure, and I want clubs to listen up.
‘I want them to have more staff, install more CCTV, start putting out lids for drinks – these are all key things.
‘But ultimately, it is about avoiding harmful weapons getting into clubs and those dirty needles getting in.
‘I have not gone for a night out since the incidents started happening and they have not put me off going out full stop.
‘What it has done is made me think “okay, instead of having five drinks I will have three” because you need to be aware and alert, and figure out if people are looking at you funny.
‘It has definitely made me think I need to be more cautious on a night out.’
Cocktail bar Baa in Liverpool is one of the venues, which has already changed its policy and announced it will increase its body and bag searches upon entry.
However, Hannah pointed out that randomised searches could discriminate people of colour and LGBT+ people, so she insisted that a move towards mandatory searches for everyone is necessary.
This comes as two men were arrested today after reports of a spate of drink spikings in Nottingham.
They are suspected of ‘conspiracy to administer poison with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve’ and are being questioned.
Police forces across the UK are currently investigating incidents of spiking by drink and by needle, including in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Swansea.
Hannah, who studied in Edinburgh for four years, said she is ‘very fortunate’ and has never experienced spiking.
She added: ‘I should stop saying that I have never been spiked as I do not want to tempt fate, but I have seen other people in clubs and I have heard the horror stories, and of course, I have spoken to a lot of the girls who have come forward recently.
‘Whilst I lived in Edinburgh I went to these nightclubs and I called the city my home.
‘So, to have these things happen somewhere I considered home is heartbreaking and scary.
‘After chatting to my friends, I started thinking how they get the needles into the nightclubs and I started researching only to realise there is no law against it, so I wanted to make a change.’
Hannah’s petition has long surpassed the required 100,000 signatures for the Government to consider it for a debate in Parliament.
She is now awaiting an official response from the committee dealing with petitions on the official website and is planning to approach MPs and Home Secretary Priti Patel next week.
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