WOMEN DANCING TO DISTRACTION AS DATE RAPE DRUGS REACH DISCOS

What began as a long awaited concert evening for a college student
turned out to be one of the most traumatic experiences of her life.

The date rape drug Rohypnol is also called a club drug because it is
often slipped into an unsuspecting victim’s drink at night clubs.

"I was so sick when I woke up," the 25 year old woman said. "I
couldn’t remember anything. I noticed vomit on the bed and stuck in my
hair. He was naked, and I was naked. He said we made love."

This woman, like many others, was a victim of a drug induced date
rape, a growing problem among young women who frequent night clubs and
bars.

The most common date rape drug is Rohypnol. It also is known as Roche,
Rope, the forget pill, R 2, Mexican Valium and most commonly Roofies.

The drug, which is illegal in the United States, is an odourless,
tasteless white tablet resembling aspirin. But it packs enough power
to cause memory loss and unconsciousness among its victims. The active
ingredient in Rohypnol, flunitrazepam, is ten times stronger than
Valium, making it one of the most potent sedatives in the world.

It is used legally in 64 countries, mainly Mexico, usually before
surgery and in treating insomnia.

The popular sedative is becoming a common threat to women, and in
Ireland rape crisis lobbyists have called on the Minister for Health
to criminalise the so called date rape drug which have already been
banned in the United States of America.

Rohypnol is manufactured by the pharmaceutical firm Hoffmann LaRoche &
Co of Basel, Switzerland. The company says it is outraged at the abuse
of its product for other than intended purposes.

"We’re horrified by the notion that one of our drugs which has good
medical therapeutic value is being abused among this subset of the
population," a spokesman for the manufacturers said.

Nightclubs have become the ideal places to administer the drug to
unsuspecting victims. Studies in the US show these club drugs are on
the upswing, especially among college students and people in their
twenties.

Roofies also are said to extend the effects of heroin. The stumbling,
staggering and slurred speech characteristics of drunks are nearly
identical to those qualities associated with Rohypnol.

Alcohol and drugs are sometimes a significant factor in date rape.
Many victims say later they drank too much or took too many drugs to
realise what was going on; by the time they realised their
predicament, it was too late. Sometimes a woman passes out and wakes
to find a man having sex with her. On the other hand, some date rapes
occur when alcohol is not involved or when the victim has had little
or nothing to drink but the man has been drinking and becomes sexually
aggressive.

Another less commonly abused drug is GHB, often promoted to teenagers
over the Internet as an aphrodisiac or an easy high. GHB,
gammahydroxybutyrate, or gammahydroxybutyric acid, is a fast acting
central nervous system depressant.

This chemical can and has killed. When slipped into a woman’s drink,
it can render her helpless. GHB is blamed for dozens of
hospitalisations and at least three deaths in the US.

GHB intensifies feelings of intoxication and may result in enhanced
sexual feelings.

It produces a similar feeling to alcohol; its effects are exacerbated
by combining it with alcohol. But the same dose of GHB can have
different effects on different people with serious, negative outcomes.
GHB has been marketed as a health food product for its hypnotic
effects and also to promote weight loss and muscle
development.

Because it is odourless and colourless, it can be slipped into
someone’s drink; in the dance club/party scene, GHB is often mixed
with water and passed around.

People could try to use GHB as a means to incapacitate women for
purposes of committing sexual assault.

GHB may produce amnesia and the victim may not be able to recall what
happened. In addition, since GHB may make a person less inhibited and
may increase sexual feelings, establishing whether or not a rape
occurred becomes more difficult.