The City of Tempe is expected to review an ordinance in January on whether local bars have devices to help detect or prevent drink spiking.<\/p>\n
TEMPE, Ariz. \u2014 The Tempe City Council is set to vote next month on a proposal that would require local bars to provide drug-testing kits and drink covers to patrons in an effort to curb drink spiking.<\/p>\n
The initiative, led by the city\u2019s recently formed Drink Spiking Awareness and Prevention Subcommittee, aims to bolster safety in one of Arizona\u2019s most active nightlife hubs. If approved in January, the measure would mandate that establishments serving alcohol have detection tools and protective covers available for purchase or distributed for free.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want to do is make sure that if you’re coming to enjoy Tempe\u2019s nightlife, that you’re doing so in the safest possible environment,\u201d said Councilmember Randy Keating, who chairs the subcommittee.<\/p>\n
Under the proposed ordinance, businesses that choose to provide the safety items at no cost to customers would be eligible for a rebate on their annual municipal liquor license fees. Otherwise, the drug detection kits are expected to retail for approximately $6.<\/p>\n
The technology behind these kits is designed for speed and ease of use in a crowded bar setting. Danya Sherman, an Arizona local and founder of Knope drug detection kits, developed the product after being a victim of drink spiking while studying abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s able to detect 12 different drugs of abuse in as little as one minute, within the benzodiazepine and ketamine classes,\u201d Sherman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the push for new legislation, official police data shows a gap between reported incidents and confirmed cases. Tempe Police reported 23 claims of suspected drink spiking in 2024. Of those, 15 cases underwent testing, and none returned positive results.<\/p>\n
However, officials suggest those numbers don’t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do know these cases are typically under-reported,\u201d said Jessica Ells of the Tempe Police Department, noting that spiking is often tied to sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n
Keating echoed this concern, citing survey data suggesting that 90% of incidents go unreported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly two-thirds of the young people that we have surveyed either have experienced or know someone who’s experienced a drink spiking incident,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The proposal has found early support among some local business owners. Tyler Halstead, owner of Outlaw Distillery in Tempe, called the measure a “step in the right direction” for the city’s reputation and safety.<\/p>\n
The City Council is expected to hold a final vote on the requirements at the end of January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City of Tempe is expected to review an ordinance in January on whether local bars have devices…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":476541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-476540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115795797278684482","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}