Our son was killed by drink spiking and it is time for those in power to finally modernise old-fashioned laws

Greg Mackie was 18 years old when he tragically died in November 2017 after his non-alcoholic drink was spiked with the equivalent of five ecstasy tablets, writes Richard McLaughlin,

His parents, Colin and Mandy Mackie, who launched the charity Spike Aware UK, after their son’s death, said: “There was no one there for us to turn to or talk to. There was nothing, we were just left with it.”

Greg was in his first year of a film and television production course at Edinburgh College when he was spiked in his student accommodation. His flatmates put him to bed assuming he was drunk, but later that night he died from the drugs that he had unknowingly taken.

“For Greg, going to university was an adventure,” said Colin, from Moffatt, Dumfriesshire. “It was about the new friends he was going to make, but unfortunately they weren’t as friendly as he thought they were going to be.”

The police initially thought Greg had taken the ecstasy tablets himself, but his parents knew their son would never knowingly take drugs.

Greg’s girlfriend at the time confirmed this was the case and explained he had been offered drugs at parties before and turned them down.

The university student competed nationally for the Castleford Castles junior speedway team as well as boxing and cross-country running, meaning he had regular drug testing.

Colin claims if his flatmates had called an ambulance or taken Greg to A&E, he could have got the treatment he needed. Despite the police believing that he was drunk at the time, a toxicology report after his death found no traces of alcohol in his blood at his time of death.

Over six years have passed since Greg died and still no one has been charged over his death. Colin believes the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. Scotland’s criminal law requires at least “two sources of reliable and credible evidence to corroborate that an offence was committed”.

Greg had planned to make an anti-drugs film as part of his university course. He also appeared as an extra in the 2018 film Outlaw King, and was due to take a role as an extra in Outlander.

Colin, who believed his son was heading towards a career in acting, said: “We’ll never know now where he would have gone or what he would have ended up doing.” 

Greg’s story is not what is largely believed to be a stereotypical victim. He was male and was not spiked in a club or bar, instead in his own student accommodation. Colin said: “If he’d been in a nightclub or that kind of environment, he’d be a bit more alert.”

After his son’s death, Colin and his wife, Mandy, set up Spike Aware UK to help victims receive the support they need, as well as campaign for changes in the law. The charity offers advice for victims who feel they cannot go to the police, or for those who have been and felt the police did not do a good enough job handling their case.

Victims of spiking can get support from their website or by calling 07368 191124.