A 43-year-old woman was left paralysed and fearing for her life after her vape was spiked on a night out.
Emma Sugrue-Lawrence was on a night out with friends in Wolverhampton when a man offered to buy her a drink. She declined the drink, but later saw the man again standing near her group of friends in the smoking area outside.
In a post on Facebook, Emma explained how she offered the man her vape to try, which he then took to the toilet. "I asked him for my vape back and started vaping it, within 10 minutes I started to feel unwell," she said.
Emma continued: "I told my mate I needed to go outside, by the time I got out the club and across the path my legs went and I couldn't stand up."
The mum of three, who is also a support worker for people with drug and addiction issues, added "I knew I had been spiked, from then my body started to shut down. I couldn't move at all, not one single part of me."
Emma's friends called an ambulance and alerted the club's staff, although she says they were initially dismissive and thought she was just too drunk. Emma was taken to a nearby hospital where she later discharged herself after being left alone for eight hours.
Speaking to Tyla, Emma said the incident highlights the dangers of date rape. "You hear about these date rapes - I couldn't move, I couldn't talk. I couldn't open my eyes, but I was aware of everything that was going on," she said.
Emma added, "It was playing on my mind what these poor girls actually go through who actually do get date raped. They can't scream, they can't stop it."
Although Emma discharged herself before being tested, she believes she was spiked with mamba spray, a synthetic cannabinoid. "You only need a tiny amount of that and you could just spray it around the base of the vape," she explained.
Luckily, Emma regained feeling throughout her body after a few days and she now hopes her story will raise awareness on the dangers of date rape. "I’m 43 and it happened to me, so I’m worried about these younger girls going out," she said, "If they target you they are going to get you any way they can. You just wouldn’t think it would happen that way because everyone says watch your drink."
For more information on drink spiking and date rape drugs, visit drinkaware.co.uk.
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
