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 definition of the term is not absolute, because every drug that has been used for this purpose also has been taken willingly by people in some 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 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 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 fondle an victim after he or she became unconscious from drinking too much.

Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are drugs used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, and several other conditions. 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. Rohypnol is of particular interest because it is readily soluble in ethanol and because it is the benzodiazepine most frequently used for 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 15–20 minutes after the drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to 8 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.

GHB/GBL
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has effects that are very similar to those of 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." This is also known as a famous club and party drug.

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)."

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.

Other drugs

 * Chloral hydrate, producing a sedative/hypnotic effect similar to that of benzodiazepines

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 drink stirrers 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.

Mass hysteria
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.

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 1,014 rape victims had their drinks spiked with sedatives.