Drink spiking in Chandler: New ordinance aims for prevention and jail time

CHANDLER – The city of Chandler has adopted a new ordinance looking to punish those found guilty of spiking drinks. It follows a similar law passed in Tempe recently.

There’s already an existing ordinance and statutes making it a felony, but this would make it a class one misdemeanor. And that’s just in case the county attorney doesn’t press charges and make it a felony. 

What we know:

Some of the ordinance says it bans tampering with someone’s food or drink without their consent by impairing judgment, increasing harm to them, or even undermining public confidence in social environments. And it’s meant to make sure that the police get involved early. 

This is an ordinance that the council member who introduced it tells me also bans attempting to spike food or drinks. And he says it’s all about making sure spiking doesn’t happen in the future.

“Accountability is probably one of the key things,” the council member said. “And also it can exist if we say preventatively, that if you do this, we’re going to come after you, which will make people think twice before they actually do it.”

With the class one misdemeanor, you can actually go to jail for up to six months. 

Is drink spiking a trend in Chandler?

Council Member OD Harris says it’s actually not. 

The Chandler Police Department says last August, they received a report from a local high school. In that case, they say a student contaminated another student’s drink and witnesses say it was pencil lead and bodily fluid.

What you can do:

At The Uncommon in Chandler, you can get testing kits that actually test for ketamine and GHB. 

What’s next:

Tempe’s city ordinance goes into effect in August.

Crime and Public SafetyChandlerNews