GIRLS SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THEIR DRINKS

Canadian Alliance MP James Moore is to be applauded for promoting an
awareness campaign about the dangers of so-called date-rape drugs.

The more knowledge about amnesia-inducing substances such as GHB and
Rohypnol the better, especially at the beginning of the school year with a
new crop of naive young women on campuses.

But Moore's recent motion, asking the federal government to classify
date-rape drugs as "weapons" in the Criminal Code is bizarre, indeed.

The B.C. MP's heart is in the right place, to be sure. Date rape is a
serious problem and GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) and Rohypnol are two of the
most insidious drugs around.

GHB was first synthesized in France decades ago as a possible anesthetic,
but was rejected by the medical profession in North America because of its
severe side-effects. It can bring on confusion, amnesia, vomiting and
irregular breathing. In larger doses it can be fatal.

In fact, GHB - an odourless, slightly salty liquid that can be slipped into
someone's drink - is the major cause of drug-induced comas in the U.S.

In America, there are more overdoses from GHB, also known as "easy lay" or
"grievous bodily harm," as there are from ecstasy.

Rohypnol also incapacitates those who ingest it. Rape victims who have been
drugged with "roofies," as they are called, have no memory of what occurred.

And both drugs are only detectable in the body for a short period of time.

People who suspect they may have been drugged and raped should get a blood
test within 12 hours, advises prosecutor John Hnidan, of Alberta Justice's
sexual assault unit.

So why not classify these two drugs as weapons, as Moore has suggested?

Because while date rape happens often, GHB and Rohypnol are rarely used
here, says Hnidan. Instead, rapists pop sedatives into their dates' drinks.

Should we classify sedatives as weapons as well?

Karen Smith, executive-director of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton,
also questions the practicality of focusing on GHB and Rohypnol alone.

Locally, the most common date-rape drugs are booze and the anti-nausea
medication Gravol, she says.

"If we're going to make rape drugs weapons, we have to include those as
well," she says.

Moore's proposal sounds "pretty unwieldy," Smith adds.

You also have to wonder whether classifying GHB and Rohypnol as date-rape
drugs and creating a separate category for such substances in the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act would lead to more serious sentences
for sexual assaults.

It's doubtful. Judges already hand out harsher penalties for attacks when
there are additional aggravating circumstances.

Rapists sometimes threaten their victims with knives, beat them, tie them
up or use some kind of stupefying drug to render their targets helpless,
says Hnidan.

The Crown would generally seek a sentence of five to eight years for a
rapist with an otherwise clean record who had drugged his victim, he says.

There already is a law on the books that specifically addresses drugging,
it should be noted.

The maximum penalty for administering a "noxious thing" intended to harm
someone is 14 years in jail.

As well, if you use a firearm to commit manslaughter, criminal negligence
causing death or sexual assault, you go to jail for a minimum of four years.

There is nothing in the Criminal Code that lays down set penalties for
using weapons in general, however.

Instead, federal policymakers decided to leave it to judges to determine
the most appropriate punishment, given the circumstances of each case.

So unless we reclassify date-rape drugs as firearms, there is no mandatory
minimum sentence for drugging during sexual assaults.

Perhaps we do need minimum sentences for sexual assault. But that's an
argument for another day.

Meanwhile, girls, watch your drinks.