Drugging people involuntarily is a horrible ‘prank’ and can put people in serious danger
By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor
My idea of a prank is something funny and light-hearted for all parties involved. A whoopee cushion is a classic example. However, some people have other ideas of what constitutes a prank that are more sinister. One trend that I’ve noticed on social media is people putting drugs into others’ food or drink without the other person’s knowledge or consent. This is called spiking and it’s an extremely dangerous activity to take part in. To me, this is not funny and can be incredibly harmful to people—it’s not a joke. Spiking other people’s food or drink with drugs as a “prank” or revenge is a trend that needs to stop before it even begins.
It seems hard to believe that any logical person would find something like this funny, but apparently there are people who do. For example, a former co-worker once told me a story from when they worked at a fast food chain: An employee spiked another employee’s food with magic mushrooms while they were working a drive-thru shift. As they laughed at the supposed hilarity of the situation, I was taken aback. How could anyone think that involuntarily feeding people drugs is funny? Especially at work?
Mushrooms is an extreme example but even something as comparatively mild as marijuana is still not okay. The victim could be allergic or have a mental or psychological condition that could be exacerbated by these kinds of drugs, and the experience could cause some serious psychological damage. Not only that, I would imagine being drugged without any knowledge or consent is a seriously stressful and traumatizing experience. Pranks are supposed to be funny, not emotionally and mentally damaging.
Other stories of people having their food or drink spiked as a prank seem far too common. One example is a YouTuber who supposedly spiked his girlfriend’s drink with female Viagra and filmed her reaction to it. The video, which has been taken down by YouTube, never showed him actually putting the drugs in, which could mean it was faked. However, I still find it concerning that someone would think it’s funny to joke about. Moreover, there are similar videos of people pranking their partners with Viagra. This can be very dangerous to some individuals, especially those who may be taking some medications or have heart conditions. Slipping people laxatives as a prank is another common yet cruel act because it can be devastatingly embarrassing to the victim. Some people even do it because they think the drugs could benefit the person. According to CTV News, one car rental employee spiked his coworkers’ drinks with LSD because he thought it would help their “negative energy.” As if being drugged without their consent helps anyone in any way.
Drugs can have different effects on people, including some potentially serious and life-threatening health issues. They could also be on medication and mixing it with drugs could be a deadly combination. Furthermore, you don’t know what the victim might be doing after they ingest the drugs. They might have to drive or go to work and potentially could hurt others because they are incapacitated. Seriously, it’s not cool or remotely humorous.
No one deserves to be drugged involuntarily because it can be a horrifying experience for the victim, especially not for the sake of someone else’s incredibly twisted sense of humour. If you ask me, you have to be a special kind of garbage human being to pull something like that. It’s not a prank—it’s a malicious and evil act.
