California bars and clubs must now stock drug test strips and drink lids
Josh Lowenthal, a venue owner turned assembly member, first introduced the amendment to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.
California nightclubs and bars are now required to provide drug testing strips and anti-spiking drink lids, Mixmag reported. The rule comes from Bill 1982, which was first approved in April.
The bill amends California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. It applies to all Type 48 license holders, a category that covers bars, restaurants and nightclubs. They must supply testing provisions and lids, and put up signs telling customers both are available.
Venues also need overdose training for CPR-certified staff, amid a rising number of drug-related deaths and hospitalizations in the state. In 2023, fentanyl was linked to 91% of California’s opioid overdose deaths, which led to a state-wide project offering free Naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.
Lowenthal first introduced the bill, arguing an amendment was needed to help prevent “unreported and difficult to prosecute” instances of sexual assault. At an assembly hearing in April, he called it “a preventable, solvable crisis of sexual assault, quite honestly, that takes place in the state of California.”
In a statement shared via the City of San Francisco, he said: “The effects of a spiked drink can’t be reversed once it’s been consumed.” Many of the common drugs used in these crimes, he added, can affect a victim’s memory.
