Drink-spiking concerns taint America's country music capital

(NewsNation) — Nashville, Tennessee, is widely known as "Music City USA," but the country music capital is getting a reputation for something sinister.

The stories of people being roofied are endless on social media. But for Caitlyn and Kyle Alexander, it’s not just a story. They were out celebrating Kyle’s birthday when, after just two drinks, Kyle lost control. He left the bar and was acting violently, walking in front of cars and not making any sense.

It got even worse when they got back to their hotel.

"He is pounding his head against the shower," Caitlyn said. "And I grab him and put my hand behind his head and said, 'Get out now. What are you doing? Calm down.' At one point, I had stuck my hand down his throat to see if he would throw up. I was just trying to figure out anything I could to bring him back."

Kyle was combative and blacked out until 9 a.m. the next morning.

"I woke up and I felt like I got hit by a train," Kyle said. "I had this headache that was throbbing. I was crying. I was balling. I said I’m so sorry. I believe I was drugged because I don’t remember a thing."

Lorraine McGuire, vice president of Nashville's Sexual Assault Center, says the Alexanders' story is all too familiar.

"We have heard a lot of people say they have been roofied," McGuire told NewsNation. "It is almost impossible [to quantify] because the drugs metabolize through somebody’s system so quickly."

Drugs like ketamine and GHB can only be detected in the body for six hours or less. When victims show up at the hospital, they’re sometimes turned away and told without a police report or evidence of sexual assault, testing won’t be done.

Nashville Night Mayor Benton McDonough says police officers are receiving specialized training, and they’re encouraging hospitals to test victims immediately.

"We have tried to coordinate with different hospitals around the city to make sure that testing is available," McDonough said. "Some have been a little more forthcoming with that than others."

Testing is now happening in some Nashville bars. It can be as simple as dropping liquid from a straw onto testing strips. More than 20 bars have joined a "safe bars" program. But Caitlyn and Kyle fear that’s not enough.

"How much longer is this going to be a major tourist spot if nobody feels safe enough to come here? I believe more needs to be done," Kyle said.

Bartenders at the safe bars are even trained with a code word. If someone orders an angel shot, it’s a secret word that means the customer needs help. The night mayor believes Nashville is getting more attention because they are more transparent about the problem compared to other cities like Las Vegas and Miami.