New Quebec team will help police in cases where people are drugged

The Quebec government is creating a coordination unit that will support police when they're investigating cases of people being drugged without their knowledge.

Public Security Minister François Bonnardel announced Tuesday morning that the Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine Laboratory will receive $2.3 million to set up the specialized team.

With this new coordination unit, the government hopes the lab can more closely monitor cases where victims are unknowingly drugged, for example with the so-called 'date rape drug' GHB, so that it can follow up with the police forces responsible for investigations.

"In particular, we want information to flow properly if several victims are drugged in the same place, or in different places with the same substance," he said.

According to Bonnardel, "thanks to the vigil performed by the laboratory, investigators will have better information to identify and catch these criminals."

The creation of this team is one of 11 measures announced last summer by Bonnardel to better support people who are drugged.

The government said anyone who believes they have been the victim of unknowing intoxication can go to the emergency room, where a urine kit can be used to detect substances.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 30, 2024.