Date Rape Drugs

Rohypnol (Flunitrazepam)

Street Names:

  • Roaches
  • Roapies
  • Rib
  • Ro-Shay
  • Rochas Dos
  • Rope
  • Run-Trip-and-Fall
  • Roofies
  • Rophies
  • R-2s
  • Larocha
  • Mexican Valium
  • Roach
  • Roofenol
  • Ruffies
  • Roches

Appearance:

  • A white dime sized pill that dissolves quickly in alcohol or other beverages.
  • Odorless and tasteless usually sold in bubble packets of 1 or 2 mg. Doses or by the pill.
  • Can say "ROCHE" printed in a semi-circle with "2" printed below.

How Ingested:

  • Rapidly and almost entirely absorbed following oral ingestion.
  • Peak blood levels 1 -2 hours after administered.
  • Effects appear with an onset of 15 to 20 minutes

Side Effects:

  • upset stomach
  • hot and cold flashes
  • dry mouth
  • tremors
  • dizziness
  • clumsiness
  • headache
  • confusion
  • skeletal
  • muscle relaxation
  • sedation
  • reduction of anxiety
  • daytime drowsiness
  • memory impairment (can be impaired up to 5-6 days)
  • can feel "hungover" and "not quite right" for several days
  • impaired judgment

Facts About Rohypnol:

  • It is 7 to 10 times more potent than Diazepam (Valium)
  • When mixed with alcohol, the effect of the drug is tripled. It is impossible to remember, speak, or respond.
  • When taken in combination with alcohol and other drugs, it is likely to cause death due to the enhanced central nervous system depression.
  • Deaths have been associated with the drug use in Louisiana. An individual can overdose in 10 to 20 minutes.
  • Legality: Import to the U.S. was banned in March, 1996. Illegal to bring across the border, even with a prescription. Possession of Rohypnol and possession with intent to deliver are both federal offenses.
  • People can lose memory of events that happen within several hours after taking Rohypnol, especially if they use it with alcohol.
  • The drug is only detectable for about 60 hours after ingestion.

GHB (Gammahydroxybutyrate)

Street Names:

  • Liquid E
  • GBH
  • Gib
  • Georgia home boy
  • Natural sleep-500 Soap
  • Oxy-sleep
  • Grievous bodily harm
  • Gamma-oh
  • Scoop
  • Saltwater
  • Liquid Ecstasy
  • Liquid X
  • Cheery Meth

Appearance:

  • Pure powder form or mixed with water.
  • Highly concentrated street form (liquid) available in small plastic bottles, about the size of a sample of shampoo.
  • Colorless, odorless, tasteless.
  • Dissolves quickly and completely.
  • Can look like brown sugar, but most common is the clear dose.

How Ingested:

  • Rapidly and almost entirely absorbed following oral ingestion.
  • Onset of symptoms within approximately 5-20 minutes and lasts approximately three hours.

Side Effects:

  • Drowsiness
  • Amnesia
  • Dizziness
  • Sweating
  • Enhanced sensation
  • Agitation
  • Hallucinations
  • Seizures and tremors
  • Restlessness
  • Headache
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Excessive salivation
  • Reduced blood pressure
  • Decreased heart rate
  • Decreased respiration rate
  • Reduced body temperature
  • Abrupt loss of consciousness
  • Delusions

Facts About GHB

  • 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.
  • When it dissolves 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 might try to explain the salty taste by calling the special potion a "energy drink."
  • GHB can render an unsuspecting individual unconscious with as little as a teaspoon mixed in a drink.
  • Even small amounts mixed with alcohol can cause an overdose.
  • Does not produce the extreme muscle paralysis and extreme memory loss associated with Rohypnol, but the chances of not remembering are very high.

Ketamine

Street Names:

  • Special K
  • K
  • Vitamin K

Appearance:

  • Ketamine comes in small vials and varies from a clear to yellow tinted liquid.
  • Usually having a white and yellow label and coming in a white and yellow box.

How Ingested:

  • Ketamine is usually injected intramuscularly or intravenously. It can also be cooked into a powder form for snorting or to be sprinkled on tobacco or marijuana and smoked.

Side Effects

  • Hallucinations
  • Visual distortions
  • Lost sense of time
  • Loss of balance
  • Lowered heart rate

Facts About Ketamine:

  • The effects of Ketamine can be felt 4-5 minutes after being introduced to the body. The peak of the drug is usually reached within 17-25 minutes, and continues for about another 20 minutes.
  • Eating or drinking while under the influence of Ketamine may induce vomiting.
  • It usually comes as a liquid in its pharmaceutical form (stolen from veterinarian suppliers) but it has been seen as a white powder or pill.
  • An overdose can cause the heart to stop.
  • Gained popularity in the New York clubs, but its use is comparatively rare.

What To Do If You Suspect A Date Rape Drug

Take 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 yourself.
  • 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).

Watch 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 waken, seems to be having trouble breathing, or is behaving in an uncharacteristic way, take steps to insure your friends safety. If necessary, call 911 for emergency medical assistance.
  • If you see someone "dosing" a drink or a punch bowl, intervene. Confront the person, warn potential victims, discard the drink, and/or get help. Note: Do not confront someone unless you're completely confident in doing so. Contact law enforcement.
  • Warn friends about high-risk situations, such as clubs where "dosing" is known to have occurred.

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 remember taking a drink but cannot recall what happened for a period of time after you consumed the drink.
  • 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.
  • Call the DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY at 988-5555 or 911.
  • Get medical care. Ask a trusted friend to stay with you and assist you in getting the help you need.
  • 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 for the responding law enforcement agency. A special test must be conducted to detect Rohypnol in a urine specimen.
  • 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.
  • Call the YWCA Rape Crisis Program for information and support, help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 504-483-8888