GHB IS A WEAPON

The Canadian Alliance has put The Link in an uncomfortable position. It
appears we have to support them.

You see, a week ago today the Alliance launched its date-rape drug campaign.
While it's already criminal to drug someone for the purpose of acquiring
sex, Private Member's Motion M-458 calls on the federal government to
classify date-rape drugs as weapons in the Criminal Code and to establish
new national guidelines in the collection and documentation of evidence in
sexual assault.

The problem with date rape drugs such as GHB and Rohypnol is that they are
easily slipped into drinks and food. Once ingested they act rapidly,
rendering the victim unconscious or unresponsive, without any memory of what
happens while the drug is in their system. Worse, all traces of the already
hard to detect drug leave the body within 72 hours, making criminal
prosecution difficult.

The difference between GHB and other recreational drugs like cocaine or
heroin is that date rape drugs are used as weapons in drug-assisted rapes.
Rapists don't get their victims high on coke hoping to use it as a mask for
their crime, but to lower inhibitions in the hopes of obtaining an easier
consent.

Opponents of the proposed bill point to the fact men have been getting women
drunk since the dawn of time in the hopes of obtaining easier consent to
sex, and that alcohol itself is a key factor in a majority of rapes. The
crucial difference here is the women drinking can make a choice whether they
want to drink. When a rapist uses date rape drugs, the woman has no choice.

Other opponents argue that GHB and other date rape drugs are used
recreationally, so why do they get any more consideration than other
recreational drugs? Again, it's the method. While many people find sex
enhanced on drugs, and make a conscious choice to use them, slipping
something in someone's drink without consent is an entirely different
matter. Using a drug as a method of covering up a crime, and to make a crime
easier to commit, is the equivalent of using a gun in a robbery as opposed
to sheer brute force.

So bravo to the Canadian Alliance, for making it known that rendering a
woman unconscious for the purposes of an easy and untracable rape and
rendering her defences (both mental and physical) null and void is using a
weapon against her.