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Steamboat police still offering drug detection kits

Matt Stensland

— The Steamboat Springs Police Department still is offering free test kits to residents who are interested in making sure their drinks are safe to drink.

In March, police purchased about 200 kits to give away, and Detective Josh Carrell said only about 20 people have come by the police department to get one.

To encourage their use, Sgt. Jeff Wilson said the downtown resource officer likely will be working with local bars to make them available there.



Carrell said officers also have the kits and are willing to come and test people’s drinks for drugs that they suspect could have been slipped in their drinks.

Police continue to be proactive with date rape and unintentional druggings even though police are not aware of any specific drugging incidents in recent months. Yampa Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Rosie Kern said the emergency room had not seen anything unusual. Advocates Building Peaceful Communities Executive Director Diane Moore also said she was not aware of any specific cases recently.



Unintentional druggings are a concern for police because Carrell said he knows that suspected druggings have not been reported to police in the past. He encouraged anyone who suspects they may have been drugged to call police.

“We would love to prevent this,” Carrell said.

Carrell said investigating suspected drugging incidents can be difficult because date rape drugs move through a person’s system quickly and usually cannot be detected the next day, once a person realizes their drink might have been spiked.

The Drink Detective test kits are about the size of a credit card and test for drugs commonly used in date rapes. Police also have available kits that will test for other drugs.

If a test comes back positive, Carrell said people should call police. The drink or substance still needs to be sent to a lab for further testing.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland


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