Crime Prevention and Security Tips - Rohypnol and GHB
Rapists Are Using A New Weapon To Overpower Their Victims
The weapon is drugs, like Rohypnol and GHB.
These drugs are silent and invisible – when hidden in a drink, they may be completely undetectable.
Yet, they are potent and destructive. They can seriously harm or even kill you.
How Does It Happen?
You're at a party, a club, or a social event. You're with people you know, people you think you have no reason to fear. Someone secretly drops a drug like Rohypnol or GHB in your drink. When the drug dissolves, it is colorless and odorless. It may also be tasteless. As you consume the drink, the drug takes effect. You're now in a weakened, helpless, or unconscious state. You're so incapacitated that you can't escape or resist a rapist, or even call out for help. You're sexually assaulted. When the drug wears off, you may not remember what happened or who participated because the drug often causes amnesia.
This may sound like an old story – “ spiking the punch” or “slipping her a Mickey.” What is new is that these drugs are especially dangerous. When combined with alcohol or other drugs, the mixture can be lethal.
What Is Rohypnol?
Rohypnol is the brand name for flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine drug. It is in the same family of medications as Valium and Xanax. But, unlike these other drugs, Rohypnol has never been approved for any medical use in the United States. It is illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess Rohypnol in this country.
“My girlfriend started to stumble around. I thought she was just really drunk. I found out later some guy had slipped a couple of ruffies into her drink.”
What Are Rohypnol's Effects?
Rohypnol is a potent and fast-acting sedative. The physical effects of the drug may be noticeable within twenty to thirty minutes after ingestion.
Rohypnol causes drowsiness, confusion, impaired motor skills, dizziness, disinhibition, impaired judgment, and reduced levels of consciousness. You may look and act like someone who is drunk. Your speech may be slurred and you may have difficulty walking. Or, you may be completely unconscious.
It is very dangerous to mix Rohypnol with alcohol or other drugs. The combination may produce extremely low blood pressure, respiratory depression, difficulty breathing, coma, or even death.
One of the most disturbing effects of Rohypnol is that it can produce complete or partial amnesia (loss of memory) for the events that take place after it is ingested. This means that you may not be able to remember what you did – or what was done to you – while you are under the influence of the drug, which may be a significant period of time. This “amnesic” effect is especially likely when Rohypnol is ingested with alcohol.
What Does It Look Like?
Rohypnol is most commonly found in tablet form. It is usually smuggled into this country in its original packaging – foil-backed, clear, plastic “blister packs” or “bubble packs.” Sometimes, the packages are opened and the pills are put into vitamin jars or other medication bottles. Or, the pills may be ground into a powder. Rohypnol is occasionally found in liquid form.
Street Names
Rohypnol is called many things: Ruffies, Roofies, Rophies, Roches, Roaches, La Rochas, Rope, Rib, Forget Pill, Poor Man's Quaalude, R-2's, Roach-2's, Circles, Dulcitas, Whiteys, Trip-and-Fall, Mind-Erasers, Mexican Valium, Lunch Money (referring to the drugs low street price), Pappas or Potatoes (describing the mental capacity of someone under the influence of the drug), Negatives or Minuses (referring to the markings on the 1 mg. Tablets), Pluses or Roches Dos (referring to the markings on the 2 mg. Tablets).
How is Rohypnol Being Abused?
Across the country, there are reports of people “closing” other people without their knowledge by dropping whole or crushed Rohypnol tablets into their drinks. When Rohypnol is dissolved in a drink, you can't see it, smell it, or taste it. Therefore, if you are “closed,” you probably won't know what you're being drugged. Soft drinks, punch, beer, or other alcoholic beverages can provide the disguise.
“The last thing I remember about the party was this guy giving me a drink. I woke up seven hours later in his bed. I can't remember anything in between.”
Against the Law
It is illegal to possess or distribute Rohypnol in the United States. It is a “controlled substance” in Schedule IV of the Federal Controlled Substances Act. It has never been approved for medical use in this country. Rohypnol is sold as a prescription drug in other countries and smuggled into the United States. In 1996, Congress passed the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act of 1996. Under the new federal law, simple possession of Rohypnol is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine. The distribution/administration of Rohypnol to another person without that person's knowledge, and with the intent to commit a crime of violence, is punishable by up to twenty years in prison and a fine. In addition to the federal law, possession and misuse of Rohypnol is a violation of some state laws.
What Is GHB?
GHB is gamma-hydroxybutyrate. It has been tested for potential medical uses in the United States, but has never been approved for any use outside of FDA-approved research trials. GHB also has been promoted for body building, although the efficacy of the drug for this use has never been documented. In 1990, the FDA issued a warning to consumers to stop using GHB because of its numerous deleterious effects.
What Are The Effects of GHB?
GHB is a powerful synthetic drug that acts as a depressant on the central nervous system. It is rapidly metabolized by the body. The effects of the drug can be felt within fifteen minutes after ingestion.
GHB can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, seizures, respiratory depression, intense drowsiness, unconsciousness, and coma. In some cases, GHB also can cause ”anterograde amnesia” (memory loss for the events following ingestion). This means that you may not be able to recall what happened to you while you were under the influence of the drug.
When GHB is ingested with alcohol or other drugs, the consequences may be life threatening. Without immediate and appropriate medical care, the results may be fatal.
Two characteristics of GHB make it especially dangerous: First, most of the GHB used today is the “homegrown” variety made by non-professionals in their own "street labs," kitchens, or bathtubs by mixing various chemical ingredients, which include solvents and caustic soda. Home-brewed GHB can be particularly dangerous. There are significant differences in the purity. , concentration, and potency of various batches. The same amount taken from two separate batches may have very different effects. The second reason GHB is dangerous is that there is a very narrow margin between the dose that will produce intoxication and the amount that will cause the harmful effects described above.
Street Names
Some of the street names for GHB are Grievous Bodily Harm (GHB), Liquid X, Liquid E, Liquid Ecstasy, Easy Lay, G, Vita-G, G-juice, Georgia Home Boy, Great Hormones, Somatomax, Bedtime Scoop, Soap, Gook, Gamma 10, and Energy Drink.
What Does It Look Like?
GHB is most commonly made in a clear liquid form that is colorless and odorless. It has also been produced as a white crystalline powder.
How is GHB Being Abused?
Across the country, there are reports of GHB being distributed at clubs, bars, raves, and other parties. GHB is usually doled out by capfuls, teaspoons, drops, or “swigs.” It may be sold or passed around in containers of varying sizes, including sports bottles, designer water bottles, eye dropper bottles, baby food jars, sample size shampoo bottles, or plastic water jugs. Or, it may be offered as a small paper cup of clear liquid.
A potential victim may be unknowingly drugged with GHB. The clear liquid GHB is easily dropped or squirted into a drink. When it is dissolved in a drink, it is colorless and odorless. However, it may be recognizable by its slightly salty taste. Sometimes people who lace drinks with GHB attempt to mask the salty taste of the drug by mixing it with a sweet liqueur, or they may try to explain the salty taste by calling it a special potion or “energy drink.”
“This guy was on top of me. I tried to push him off, but I couldn't lift my arms. They felt like they were full of sand.”
Is Everyone Affected The Same Way?
It is difficult to predict the exact effects of any drug on a particular individual. The effects vary depending upon the drug, the dose you ingest, whether the drug is mixed with alcohol or other drugs, your weight, gender, metabolism, and other factors, including how soon you receive medical assistance. There is one thing you can be sure of – the danger of serious and harmful effects is greatly increased when drugs like Rohypnol and GHB are taken in combination with alcohol or other drugs.
Roofies and GHB
Avoiding Rape
Taking Care of Yourself
- Don't drink beverages that you did not open yourself
- Don't share or exchange drinks with anyone.
- Don't take a drink from a punch bowl.
- Don't drink from a container that is being passed around.
- If possible, bring your own drinks to parties.
- If someone offers you a drink from the bar at a club or a party, accompany the person to the bar to order your drink, watch the drink being poured and carry the drink with you.
- Don't leave your drink unattended while talking, dancing, using the restroom or making a phone call.
- If you realize that your drink has been left unattended, discard it.
- Don't drink anything that has an unusual taste or appearance (e.g., salty taste, excessive foam, unexplained residue).
DO NOT MIX DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Watching Out For Your Friends
- Appoint a designated “sober” person when you go to parties, clubs or bars. Have a plan to periodically check up on each other.
- If one of your friends appears very intoxicated, gets sick after drinking a beverage, passes out and is difficult to awaken, seems to be having difficulty breathing, or is behaving in an uncharacteristic way, take steps to ensure your friend's safety. If necessary, call 911 for emergency medical assistance.
- If you see or hear that someone is “dosing” a drink or a punch bowl, intervene, confront the person, warn potential victims, discard the drink, and/or get help.
- Warn friends about high-risk situations, such as clubs where “dosing” is known to have occurred.
Don't Be Ashamed Or Embarrassed To Stand Up For Yourself Or Your Friends…It Could Mean The Difference Between Life and Death!
Roofies and GHB
Taking Action
Signs that you May Have Been Drugged
- If you feel a lot more intoxicated than your usual response to the amount of alcohol you consumed…
- If you wake up very hung over, feeling “fuzzy”, experiencing memory lapse, and can't account for a period of time…
- If you feel as though someone had sex with you but you can't remember any or all of the incident…
What To Do If It Happens To You
- Get to a safe place.
- Get help immediately.
- Ask a trusted friend to stay with you and assist you in getting the help you need.
- Call the police.
- Go to a hospital emergency department as soon as possible for an examination and evidence collection.
- Request that the hospital take a urine sample for drug toxicology testing to be done by your law enforcement agency's crime lab. A special test must be conducted to detect Rohypnol in a urine sample.
Preserve as much physical evidence as possible. Do not urinate, shower, bathe, douche, or throw away the clothing you were wearing during the incident. If possible, save any other materials that might provide evidence, such as the glass that held your drink.