The mum and dad of a student thought to have died after his soft drink was spiked with ecstasy have launched a campaign warning university freshers of the danger.
Greg Mackie, 18, was found dead in the toilets of his digs after a party, just six weeks into his first year of studies.
Now parents Colin and Mandy are urging students heading to university or college to be on their guard.
A postmortem found the equivalent of five ecstasy tablets in Greg’s body.
The Film and TV Media student was strongly anti-drugs and had planned to make a film on the issue on his course at Edinburgh College.
He also had regular drug tests as a motorcycle speedway competitor.
Police investigated the death in 2017 but found it to be “non-suspicious”. Spiking carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
Colin and Mandy, both 58, have set up the charity Spike Aware UK in Greg’s memory to warn students of the dangers. Colin, of Biggar, South Lanarks, said: “We never got closure.
“It’s so hard to prove a spiking victim didn’t know what they were taking.”
Speaking ahead of what would have been Greg’s 21st birthday next month, Colin added: “We want people to be careful. It’s so easy for someone to slip something into someone’s drink.”
The couple will send 20,000 flyers, 15,000 protective bottle lids and 10,000 beer mats to campuses.
Storeman Colin added: “Freshers Week will be different this year, but the risk is absolutely still there.”
