FEMALES USE ROHYPNOL PURPOSELY, STUDY SAYS

Nearly 6 percent of a group of sexually active girls and young woman
reported taking the drug Rohypnol deliberately, despite warnings that
it can make them vulnerable to rape, according to a study.

Rohypnol is known as a date rape drug because of cases in which women
were assaulted after someone slipped it into their drink. Users have
likened one tablet to drinking a 12-pack of beer.

Researchers at the University of Texas questioned 904 women ages 14 to
26 who visited a Galveston family-planning clinic, and found that 5.9
percent - or 53 - said they had taken Rohypnol at least once. Six
reported taking it more than 20 times.

The study was reported Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics.

The researchers suspect that women try the drug because it is cheap,
produces an intoxicating high and heightens the effects of other narcotics.