Date rape drug

Date rape drug refers to any drug that can be used to assist in the commission of a sexual assault (date rape). The term originated in journalism and has no strict scientific or legal definition, because a wide variety of drugs can be used to incapacitate a person, and all of them have sometimes been taken willingly by people in other situations. Date rape drugs commonly have sedative, hypnotic, dissociative, and/or amnesiac effects, and, when used to facilitate rape, are often added to a food or drink without the victim's knowledge.

Types of drugs

Two drugs often referred to as date-rape drugs are GHB, also known as gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, and benzodiazepines (such as flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol or "roofies"); however, alcohol still remains the drug most frequently implicated in substance-assisted sexual assault.

Alcohol

Alcohol remains the most commonly used date rape drug because it is legal and readily available. Many assailants use alcohol because their victims often willingly imbibe it, and can be encouraged to drink enough to lose inhibitions or consciousness. Even if the victim agrees to sex, the act may be considered rape if the victim's judgment was impaired or incapacitated by alcohol. Some assailants have committed "rapes of convenience" whereby they have assaulted a victim after he or she had become unconscious from drinking too much.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, and several other conditions. All benzo drugs work for drug rape. Some benzodiazepines used to treat insomnia possess powerful sedative, motor-impairing, and strong amnestic properties. Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), temazepam (Restoril), and midazolam are the three benzodiazepines most commonly used to facilitate date rape; all three are hypnotic benzodiazepines. Flunitrazepam and temazepam are of particular interest because they are readily soluble in ethanol, and in flunitrazepam's case, it is the benzodiazepine most frequently associated with date rape. Rohypnol is not approved for use in the United States and its importation is banned.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

"Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means that individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug."

The sedative effects of Rohypnol begin to appear approximately 15 to 20 minutes after the drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to eight hours after administration of the drug, but some cases have been reported in which the effects were experienced for twelve or more hours after administration. In recent news, it has been discovered that scientists can now detect flunitrazepam and related compounds in urine at least up to five days or in hair up to a month after administration of a single dose of Rohypnol.

GHB/GBL

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has effects that are very similar to those of alcohol but much more intense. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration:

"Victims may not be aware that they ingested a drug at all. GHB and its analogues are invisible when dissolved in water, and are odorless. They are somewhat saltish in taste, but are indiscernible when dissolved in beverages such as soft drinks, liquor, or beer."

However, the amount of saltiness one tastes varies depending on one's sodium intake .

"GHB is, in fact, quite salty. When mixed in a drink, it ruins the drink (like dumping bicarb into a drink).". In fact, the colder the drink, the sweeter or fruitier the drink, etc., the less likely the change will be detected.

Common recreational doses of GHB are in the range of 1.8 to 2.7 grams, a large amount compared with most other sedative drugs, which can be active in amounts measured in milligrams. Doses required to induce complete sedation are even higher in most individuals. This makes detection of a drink tainted with GHB more likely and makes use of GHB to spike drinks considerably more difficult. Victims may not necessarily be "knocked out" by the drink but are often in a walking blackout and may or may not pass out.

The prodrug GBL is used to bypass GHB restriction laws. In the human body GBL is rapidly converted into GHB. In 2008, a German internet trader delivered tons of GBL for illicit use. Several people have died after consuming GHB.. But in the US, under federal law, GBL and other analogs are covered and treated the same as GHB, when used for human consumption.

Other drugs

• Chloral hydrate produces a sedative/hypnotic effect similar to that of benzodiazepines. A drink that has been spiked with chloral hydrate is often called a Mickey Finn.

Dangers

These drugs can be extremely dangerous when administered to an individual not aware of the drugging, and it may kill or render the victim comatose, especially in large doses or in combination with other drugs or alcohol. Drug allergies and interactions are also a possibility. Drug effects can be amplified in a certain percentage of the population that lack enzymes normally found in drug metabolism.

It is imperative that any investigation into the suspected use of date rape drugs involve an immediate blood test, as waiting too long to test for the presence of drugs may cause false negatives, because these drugs are quickly metabolized and eliminated by the body. Trying to deduce from the symptoms whether or not date rape drugs have been used can cause false positives.

Testing kits that claim to detect GHB, ketamine, and benzodiazepines such as Rohypnol in seconds are commercially available under names such as The Drink Detective. Companies around the world are making or trying to make paper coasters or test strips that change color when dabbed with a drink doctored with a date rape drug. In most countries, whether or not a drug was used is irrelevant to the issue of whether a particular incident is rape or not. The legal definition of rape in countries such as the United States also covers a lack of consent when the victim is unable to say "no" to intercourse, whether the effect is due to drugging or simply alcohol consumption.

Mistaken Self-Diagnosis

In 2003, when the media were reporting a drink-spiking epidemic in Perth, Western Australia, 44 women had their blood tested because they believed they had been the victims of drink-spiking. The West Australian Chemistry Centre tested the blood samples, and, in these 44 cases, the only substance found in the victims' system was excessive alcohol. Police said that the blood-alcohol level of most of the subjects was significantly higher than what the women had themselves expected. Alcohol has the same effects as other date rape drugs, and causes unconsciousness and memory loss.

In the UK, of a study of 75 women who reported falling victim to date rape drugs, not one instance turned out to be due to a date rape drug.[1]

Sometimes victims drink too much and insist they have been drugged when, rather, they have overestimated their tolerance for alcohol. A study in the UK found that only 2 percent of a pool of 1,014 rape victims had their drinks spiked with sedatives.

See also

• Club drug
• Mickey Finn (drugs)
• Samantha Reid

External links

• "Drug rape myth exposed as study reveals binge drinking is to blame", Daily Mail (UK) article on binge drinking and claims of "spiked" drinks
• Waiter Prevents Perpetrator from spiking Womans Cocktail with Valium
• Waiter Prevents Perpetrator from spiking Womans Cocktail with Valium