Roommates are a mysterious lottery of college life where you could end up with your future maid-of-honor, or someone who makes you question your safety, sanity, and the ethics of drink-mixing. From passive-aggressive sticky notes to food mysteriously disappearing, bad roommate stories are a classic coming-of-age genre.
Now, imagine your drinks being spiked by your roommate so you wouldn't join in on conversations with her friends. Yep, it sounds like a dark sitcom plot, but today's Original Poster (OP) shared a real-life horror story of how she found out her roommate had been slipping pills into the drinks she had been offering her.
More info: Reddit
They often say that living with someone in college is often the first real test of adult cohabitation
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author didn't know what to expect when getting a roommate, but hers turned out to be super messy with friends who usually came around from time to time
Image credits: Fluffy_Home_7271
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Sometimes, she would have conversations with the friends that came around, and this made the roommate unhappy, even though she never mentioned it
Image credits: Fluffy_Home_7271
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The roommate started making drinks on the pretext of having a new hobby in mixing drinks together, but every time she would drink it, she would become very groggy
Image credits: Fluffy_Home_7271
She would also wake up disoriented, so the day she declined a drink, her roommate cracked under pressure and revealed that she had been slipping melatonin in the drinks
When the OP first moved into the dorm, she didn’t know what to expect from her roommate. However, the roommate turned out to be really messy, but always surrounded by friends, who usually came to their room to hang out with her. The OP didn’t mind much, as she typically would listen to music during their conversations or sometimes talk with her roommate's friends.
Apparently, her roommate wasn't happy about this, even though she didn't voice it out. Everything seemed like a game until the roommate started offering her "fun drinks" to try. It seemed innocent enough at first. The roommate had claimed she was just experimenting with mixing juices and sparkling water, so the OP thought it was harmless to give them a go.
However, as time passed, she noticed something strange happening every time she accepted the drinks. She’d end up falling asleep within an hour whenever her friends came around. The OP would wake up hours later, groggy and disoriented, with no memory of how she’d fallen asleep, and this soon began to affect her study time and her grades.
It wasn’t until she declined one of the drinks one day that she noticed her roommate was insistent on her drinking it. When she pressed, the roommate then nonchalantly admitted that she had been slipping melatonin into her drinks all along. According to her, she wanted to "hang out with her friends in peace" without the OP talking to them or even being awake. This, naturally, left the OP reeling.
To better understand the medical and ethical implications of the roommate's actions, Bored Panda reached out to licensed pharmacist Halimat Amolegbe, who shed light on the situation. We began by asking about the claim that melatonin was the substance used to induce sleep.
According to her, melatonin, a natural hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle, is unlikely to cause the sudden, deep sleep described in the post. "Melatonin is essential for healthy sleep patterns, but on its own, it typically wouldn’t cause someone to suddenly pass out except it has been taken in a very high dosage," she explained.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Amolegbe also pointed out that stronger sedative effects are more likely to come from substances such as valerian root, chamomile, or antihistamines like piriton. "Natural remedies are generally safer, as they aren’t addictive, but they still carry risks,” she added.
When asked about the potential dangers of administering medication without someone’s consent, she expressed serious concern. "It’s extremely dangerous to administer any drug without someone’s informed consent." She highlighted several risks, including allergic reactions, ranging from mild discomfort to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
"It’s not just physical harm that could happen. You could also see psychological distress, like anxiety, confusion, or even depression," they explained. Furthermore, she noted the risk of dosage errors and harmful drug interactions. "For instance, mixing certain foods with medications, like dairy with antacids or antibiotics, can create serious problems."
Amolegbe emphasized that administering any medication without knowledge of a person’s medical history can lead to unpredictable and potentially dangerous effects, including unconsciousness. "You should never give someone a substance without knowing their health background, and even then, they need to be fully informed about what’s being given to them."
Lastly, we asked about the ethical implications of drugging someone to alter their behavior or mental state, and she was unequivocal in their response, saying "deliberately giving someone a substance to alter their mental state without their knowledge is extremely malicious behavior, and there is never a situation where it’s justified."
She further explained that in medical settings, even medications are only administered to unconscious patients with the consent of authorized family members and under strict supervision, hinting that the context in a medical setting is vastly different and condemning the roommate's actions. "Not only is this unethical, but it could have serious consequences."
Netizens were filled with rage as they urged the OP to take immediate action, emphasizing that her roommate's behavior was not only morally wrong but likely a serious criminal offense. They also recommended specific steps, like calling campus security, getting a blood test, as they highly doubted she was given melatonin, and filing a police report.
What do you think about this situation? What advice would you give to someone who suspects their roommate is manipulating them like this? We would love to know your thoughts!
The roommate claimed she did it so that she could hang out with her friends without the author's interference, and netizens are enraged on her behalf
