Date Rape Drugs

Previous research has suggested that the risk of being drugged is an overblown urban myth. But a new study says that drink spiking is very real and often leads to sexual assault for women on college campuses.

Published in the American Psychological Association's Psychology of Violence journal, the resulting study—"Just a Dare or Unaware? Outcomes and Motives of Drugging ('Drink Spiking') Among Students at Three College Campuses"—asserts that drink spiking is a very real threat to women on campus.

A team of researchers surveyed over 6,000 students across three universities—the University of South Carolina, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Cincinnati. They first asked how many times the student suspected they had been drugged, with the options ranging from "zero" to "over six times," and asked follow-up questions from there, including the location of the drugging and consequences.

The results were, in a word, disturbing. Nearly eight percent of all students said they had experienced being drugged with Rohypnol ("roofies"), Xanax, or other substances. That's about 462 students. And of those students, broken down by gender, 16.8 percent of women reported that they had had "unwanted sex" after being given a spiked drink. (Broadly, May 24, 2018)

The four most common date rape drugs are Rohypnol® (flunitrazepam), GHB (gamma hydroxybutryic acid), ketamine, and chloral hydrate.

Rohypnol (also known as roofies, forget-me-pill, and R-2) is a type of prescription pill known as a benzodiazepine—it’s chemically similar to drugs such as Valium or Xanax, but unlike these drugs, it is not approved for medical use in this the United States.

• It has no taste or smell and is sometimes colorless when dissolved in a drink.
• People who take it can feel very sleepy and confused and forget what happens after its effects kick in.
• It can also cause weakness and trouble breathing, and can make it difficult for those who have taken it to move their body.
• The effects of Rohypnol can be felt within 30 minutes of being drugged and can last for several hours.
• To prevent misuse of Rohypnol, the manufacturer recently changed the pill to look like an oblong olive green tablet with a speckled blue core. When dissolved in light-colored drinks, the new pills dye the liquid blue and alert people that their drink has been tampered with. Unfortunately, generic versions of Rohypnol may not contain the blue dye.

GHB (also known as cherry meth, scoop, and goop) is a type of drug that acts as a central nervous system depressant and is prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy (a sleep disorder).

• It can cause a person to throw up; it can also slow their heart rate and make it hard to breathe.
• At high doses, it can result in a coma or death. 
• It's a tasteless, odorless drug that can be a powder or liquid. It’s colorless when dissolved in a drink.
• Mixing it with alcohol makes these effects worse.
• GHB can take effect in 15 to 30 minutes, and the effects may last for 3 to 6 hours.

 

 Ketamine (also known as cat valium, k-hole, and purple) is a dissociative anesthetic. That means it distorts perceptions of sight and sound, and makes a person feel detached from their environment and themselves. It also reduces pain and overall feeling. Like other anesthetic drugs, it's used during surgical procedures in both humans and animals.

• It's a tasteless, odorless drug that can be a powder or liquid.
• It can cause hallucinations and make people feel totally out of it.
• It can also increase heartbeat, raise blood pressure, and cause nausea.
• The effects of ketamine may last for 30 to 60 minutes.

 

Chloral Hydrate is the oldest of the hypnotic (sleep inducing) depressants, chloral hydrate was first synthesized in 1832.

• A solution of chloral hydrate and alcohol constituted the infamous "knockout drops" or "Mickey Finn." This form of chloral hydrate is used in drug facilitated sexual assault, or "date rape".
• Signs of overdose include confusion (continuing); convulsions (seizures); difficulty in swallowing; drowsiness (severe); low body temperature ; nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain (severe); shortness of breath or troubled breathing; slow or irregular heartbeat; slurred speech; staggering; and weakness (severe).

If you're at a party where people are drinking alcohol, you should be aware that there could be predators hoping to make you drunk or vulnerable. No matter what you're drinking, even if it’s soda or juice, people can slip drugs in your drinks—so pour all drinks yourself and never leave them unattended.

Date rape drug detection tests are available. These tests consist of paper sheets containing a chemical test compound. Place a few drops of a suspected drink on the test sheet, and if the drink contains a date rape drug (GHB or Ketamine) the test sheet will react by changing color.