Boston Council Hears Testimony on Drink Spiking Gaps Ahead of St. Patrick's Day

BOSTON — March 12, 2026 — Boston City Council examines drink spiking response as St. Patrick's Day weekend approaches. The Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by At-Large Councillor Henry Santana, held a hearing Thursday on Docket 0167, a hearing order sponsored by Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, receiving testimony from Boston Police, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Licensing Board, and the Office of Nightlife Economy. Boston Police Captain Detective Terry Thomas reported 78 drink spiking incidents and seven drug-facilitated sexual assaults in 2025, with seven drink spiking reports already filed in early 2026. Two survivors testified that Massachusetts General Hospital denied them toxicology testing because they had not reported a sexual assault — a gap that state Senate Bill 1537, sponsored by Senator Paul Feeney and just cleared by the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, would address by mandating uniform hospital testing statewide. Kim Mendoza-Iraeta of the Boston Public Health Commission noted her office operates with a staff of two and called for stronger local data infrastructure, while Corinne Reynolds of the Office of Nightlife Economy, also a team of one, announced plans to distribute 100,000 drink covers in 2026 — with the first batch going out that evening at a South Boston parade safety meeting — and acknowledged only 47 licensed premises responded to a city-wide training outreach.