Woman who says she has been drugged twice in Montreal bars speaks out

A Montreal woman is calling for better education about consent after she says she was drugged twice at Montreal bars in less than a year, including the most recent incident last weekend.

Rozana Ryan was out with friends on Friday at Nacho Libre in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie and believes someone slipped something in her drink toward the end of the night.

"I went to get my coat, and 15 minutes later, I started to feel really dizzy, and I don't remember a thing after it," said Ryan, 22.

"My body shut down completely. I remember not being able to stand up, feeling like I couldn't walk."

Her friends knew something was wrong and helped her home.

Ryan says the experience left her panicked and confused the following day.

"That feeling of not knowing where you are, not remembering a thing, it's so scary," she said.

The incident comes several months after Ryan says she and a friend were drugged at a party.

"I think the dose was less strong than last Friday because I remember being in my body, being conscious but unable to move, unable to talk," she said.

Ryan says she passed out in the bathroom and was later found by a friend who helped her home.

This most recent incident prompted Ryan's father, former city councillor Richard Ryan, to take to social media expressing outrage and calling for parents to educate their sons about consent and respecting women.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Richard Ryan (@richardryan_mileend)

Ryan's story garnered a strong reaction on social media before the bar itself responded.

A lengthy statement posted to Instagram expressed anger over the incident, calling the issue of drink spiking a "plague" in bar culture.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Nacho Libre (@barnacholibre)

Drugs used to spike drinks are often odourless and colourless, making them hard to detect.

They're also cheap and easy to access.

Last month, two raids in the Montreal area resulted in police seizing thousands of litres of a product used to manufacture GHB—the drug commonly referred to as the date rape drug.

Bar owner Pier Bourque tells CTV News they've introduced additional training for staff since Ryan's story emerged.

That includes a new protocol allowing patrons who feel unsafe to order an "angel cocktail," which is a code word to ask the bartender for help discreetly.

Montreal's Sexual Assault Centre says it's essential for bars to take steps, adding local governments should also introduce ways to keep people safe.

"I think it's just encouraging everybody to pay attention to what's going on around them," said the centre's director, Debbie Trent. "And if they see someone who is in distress… it's checking in with that person, and it's making sure that they have a safe place to go to, to be able to talk to someone who can be helpful to them."

Ryan says she doesn't blame Nacho Libre for what happened and wants her story to draw attention to the broader problem.

"It's always the responsibility of the girl, and that really makes me sick because we're all protecting each other like the girls, but when is it time for society to protect us?" she said.

Ryan hopes this incident inspires bar owners and lawmakers to pay closer attention to safety.