Date rape drugs: Types, symptoms, side effects, and prevention

Urine samples need to be collected in just 72 hours and saliva and drug tests are normally ineffective in under 24 hours. More elaborate hair follicle testing can be conducted after 72 hours but may produce a false-positive result if other benzodiazepines are present in the system. While these symptoms closely resemble the effects of a hangover from alcohol, many victims do not identify that they have been raped.

The Social: Where are Roofies Used?

Ketamine is an anesthetic that acts quickly to cause feelings of relaxation. They might not remember what happened while under the influence of the drug. After Rohypnol wears off, some individuals do not remember what happened. Rohypnol comes are there drops to reverse eye dilation in pill form, but a perpetrator can dissolve it in liquid, such as an alcoholic drink. “Being roofied” means that you were raped or sexually assaulted after being given a substance that made it hard for you to say no or protect yourself.

Common Drugs Used for Roofies

The Office on Women’s Health recommends watching drinks closely, opening containers yourself, and getting help right away if you start to feel odd effects. In the United States, Rohypnol is used recreationally at lower doses as a party or club drug, more often by males. Its use among adolescents has decreased significantly mdma abuse: the withdrawal and detox timeline but not as much as GBH or ketamine have. Those who abuse Rohypnol often combine it with alcohol, usually beer, in order to produce an exaggerated high. Part of the appeal of Rohypnol as a party drug (especially among young people) is its low cost. Someone who has been roofied will feel extremely intoxicated very quickly.

Documented date rape drugs

We’ll start by listing some common tactics that provide the best guidelines to stay safe. When used as a hypnotic, flunitrazepam’s most common side effect is a residual effect in the morning after ingestion. Regarding chemical structure, flunitrazepam is a 1,4-benzodiazepine, a C-nitro compound, and a member of the monoflourobenze class when benzene carries a single fluoro substituent. In simpler terms, flunitrazepam is nitrazepam with a fluoro group at position two and a methyl group at position one. Rohypnol is the trade name for Flunitrazepam, which is sold to treat severe insomnia or to be used as an anesthetic outside of the U.S..

Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include Micromedex (updated 7 Jul 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 14 Jul 2024), ASHP (updated 10 Jul 2024) and others. Rohypnol impairs cognitive and psychomotor functions affecting reaction time and driving skill. The use of this drug in combination with alcohol is a particular concern as both are central nervous system depressants and will increase each other’s toxicity. Injection of any illegal drug puts the user at risk of contracting HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne illnesses due to needle-sharing.

Recognizing the symptoms of date rape drugs and keeping an eye out for intoxicated friends can go a long way. Once the most commonly used drug to sedate kids at the dentist, chloral hydrate can cause harmful side effects. While Rohypnol has become widely known for its use as a date-rape drug, it is abused more frequently for other reasons. It is abused by high school students, college students, street gang members, rave party attendees, and heroin and cocaine abusers to produce profound intoxication, boost the high of heroin, and modulate the effects of cocaine. Teenagers and young males age 13 to 30 years of age have been noted as the primary abusers of Rohypnol. Although there are tests and gadgets designed to let you test your drink for the presence of date rape drugs, these are still in the experimental stage and should never take the place of common sense caution.

1. It may be given to help relax someone prior to receiving anesthesia.
2. According to Dr. Maria Gomez, Director of Psychology at American University, Flunitrazepam is exceptionally effective when used to commit sexual assault not only because it is a sedative, but also because it causes amnesia.
3. Some other types of drugs might also taste slightly bitter or salty.
4. Once intoxication sets in—roughly minutes after ingestion—a person will pass out and remain unconscious for at least a few hours.
5. Drugs that people use for sexual assault usually leave the body within hours, leaving no trace.
6. The date-rape drug you’ve likely heard about most is Rohypnol, which the ’90s slang “roofie” is a remnant of.

Rohypnol is also used in combination with alcohol to produce an exaggerated intoxication. Rohypnol is also misused to physically and psychologically incapacitate victims targeted for sexual assault. The drug is usually placed in the alcoholic drink of an unsuspecting victim to incapacitate them and prevent resistance to sexual assault. A person who wakes up to signs that someone may have drugged them must also seek emergency medical care. If the police catch a perpetrator, they can use this kit to prove their guilt.

Drugs that people use for sexual assault usually leave the body within hours, leaving no trace. After going to the emergency room or calling 911, individuals should tell the doctor, nurse, or dispatcher a complete guide to ketamine withdrawal & addiction that they may have been drugged and request immediate testing. Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) is an illicit drug that causes sedation deep enough to render a person completely incapacitated.

Unfortunately, because date-rape drugs aren’t always easy to detect ― they blend in too well with drinks ― many victims don’t realize they’ve been drugged or assaulted until hours later. By acting quickly when a person thinks they might have been drugged or sexually assaulted, they can protect themselves, help catch the perpetrator, and potentially mitigate the dangerous effects of any drugs. Benzodiazepines are a class of anti-anxiety drugs that can also cause people to feel sleepy. Individuals can use several of these drugs, including Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam), to incapacitate someone for the purpose of sexual assault. Research also shows that about 11 million women are survivors of rape while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. There is no conclusive data on the purposeful use of drugs for sexual assault on survivors of any sex, but law enforcement is reporting that the number is rising.

In postmortem specimens, the parent drug may have been entirely degraded over time to 7-aminoflunitrazepam.[25][26][27] Other metabolites include desmethylflunitrazepam and 3-hydroxydesmethylflunitrazepam. While simple possession of roofies by drug abusers is illegal, an intent to distribute charge is a felony. However, it’s likely that flunitrazepam does not have a more significant abuse potential than other high-potency benzodiazepines like alprazolam and lorazepam, classified as Schedule IV. Instead, flunitrazepam’s classification is likely due to the pharmacological particularities that have led it to become a widely used date rape drug and the need to further curtail access to it to prevent sexual assault. The date-rape drug you’ve likely heard about most is Rohypnol, which the ’90s slang “roofie” is a remnant of. But these days, GHB and ketamine are more commonly used in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases, according to Maria Michonski, a statewide training specialist at the Sexual Assault Center service provider in Nashville, Tennessee.

It usually takes effect within 30 minutes and lasts an hour or two, but you could be affected for a day or more. How you’re affected and how long the effects last depend on the type of date-rape drug you’re given. If you’ve been roofied, you might instantly feel very drunk and sleepy. You could feel sick to your stomach, dizzy, and have trouble standing or walking. Rape is when someone has sex, or does sexual acts with you, without your consent. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records.

People will commonly manufacture it in home “labs.” Consequently, a person may become extremely sick after being drugged with GHB, and it can be fatal. Ketamine is a white powder that may change the taste of someone’s drink. Consequently, perpetrators sometimes use it in strong-tasting alcoholic beverages that may disguise the drug’s presence. These signs can be easy to miss, especially if you’re in a dark room or drinking a dark-colored beer or soda.

Due to the strong amnesia produced by the drug, victims would have limited or no memory of the assault. It’s also important to seek medical care afterward if you wake up the next day suspecting you’ve been roofied. If you’re not sure whether you were sexually assaulted, a medical examination can help determine if that occurred. Taking pregnancy prevention medication is usually advised in this scenario, and hospital staff can use a rape kit that can help prove the guilt of the person who assaulted you. Don’t shower or bathe until prior to going to the hospital as it could destroy evidence. Research gleaned from three large universities suggests that as many as one in 13 college students has been slipped drugs without their knowledge or consent.

Rapid redistribution from the central plasma compartment to tissue compartments explains the discrepancy between the half-life of the drug and the duration of its clinical effects, with the former being much longer than the latter [2]. One important particularity of flunitrazepam is its affinity for the GABA-A α5 subunit. The α5 subunit, predominant in the hippocampus, is comparatively rare, accounting for less than 5% of all GABA-A receptors [4]. Compounds with a high affinity for this receptor (like alcohol, for example) tend to cause amnesia as a side effect. Generally, the addition of a fluoride group causes drugs to increase potency. This appears to hold true in the case of flunitrazepam; the drug is of higher potency than its progenitor, nitrazepam, and it is approximately ten times as potent as diazepam (AKA Valium) [1].