Date rape drug
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term date rape drug, refers to any drug which can be used to assist in the commission of a sexual assault. These drugs commonly have sedative, hypnotic and amnestic affects, and when used to facilitate rape are often added to a food or drink without the victim's knowledge.
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[edit] Types of Drugs
Some commonly known date rape drugs are GHB, ketamine and flunitrazepam, which is also known as Rohypnol or "roofies". However, alcohol remains the drug most frequently implicated with substance-assisted sexual assault.[1]
[edit] Alcohol
More rapes involve alcohol than any other drug. In large doses, alcohol will sedate and cause loss of memory, and victims usually imbibe willingly. In addition alcohol increases the effect of most other sedative drugs.
[edit] Benzodiazepines
Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and other benzodiazepines are sedative/hypnotics which also cause amnesia.
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."[2]
The sedative effects of Rohypnol begin to appear approximately 15–20 minutes after the drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to six hours after administration of the drug, but some cases have been reported in which the effects were experienced 12 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 5 days after administration of a single dose of Rohypnol and up to a month in hair.[3]
[edit] Cantharidin
Cantharidin is part of one of the world’s most well-known aphrodisiacs the legendary "Spanish Fly" potion, used for seduction since ancient times. Cantharides are illegal in the United States and many other countries due to their dangerous side effects and the lethal dose being around 0.5 mg/kg, with a dose of as little as 10 mg being potentially fatal. Cantharidin causes painful irritation of the urinary tract, it can't be seriously considered a date rape drug.
[edit] GHB
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has effects that are very similar to alcohol. 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."[4]
Many recreational users of GHB would disagree with this statement:
- "GHB is, in fact, quite salty. When mixed in a drink, it ruins the drink (like dumping bicarb in a drink)."[5]
[edit] Other drugs
- Ketamine, a dissassociative anaesthetic, and MDMA (Ecstasy), an empathogenic phenylethylamine, both of which are at times referred to as potential date rape drugs, are unlikely to actually be put to this purpose.[citation needed]
- Chloral hydrate has a sedative/hypnotic effect similar to that of benzodiazepines
[edit] Combating the Drugs
These drugs are extremely dangerous, and may kill or render the victim comatose, especially in large doses or in combination with other drugs or alcohol. It is imperative that any investigation into the suspected use of date rape drugs involve the immediate carrying out of a blood test, as waiting too long to test for the presence of drugs may cause false negatives.
However, trying to deduce whether date rape drugs have been used from the symptoms is an approach that can cause false positives. 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 victim's 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. This is irrelevant to the issue of whether an assault 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, due to the effects of drugs or alcohol.[6] In large amounts, alcohol has the same effects as date rape drugs, and causes unconsciousness and memory loss.
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."
Sometimes victims end up drinking too much and insist that they were drugged when in fact they overestimated their tolerance for alcohol. A study in the UK found that only 2 percent of a pool of 1014 rape victims had their drinks spiked with sedatives.[7]
Companies around the world are making or trying to make paper coasters or drink stirrers that change color when dabbed with a drink doctored with a date rape drug[citation needed].
[edit] References
[edit] 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
