Rape Drugs: Rohypnol

Some rapists are using a new weapon to overpower and incapacitate their victims. The weapon is drugs, such as Rohypnol and GHB. These drugs are like other potentially lethal weapons -- they can seriously harm you. They can even kill you. But, unlike other lethal weapons, the drugs may look harmless. Or, when hidden in a drink, they may be completely undetectable by an unknowing victim.

Rohypnol

What is Rohypnol?

Rohypnol is the brand name for flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine drug in the same family of medications as Valium and Xanax. However, unlike those other drugs, Rohypnol has never been approved for any medical use in the United States. It is illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess Rohypnol in the United States.

Rohypnol is a potent sedative. The physical effects of the drug may be noticeable within 15 to 30 minutes after ingestion. The effects may last for many hours.

Rohypnol may cause drowsiness, confusion, impaired motor skills, dizziness, disorientation, disinhibition, impaired judgment, and reduced levels of consciousness. You may look and act like someone who is drunk. Your speech may be slurred, and you may have difficulty walking. Or you may be rendered unconscious.

It is very dangerous to mix Rohypnol with alcohol or other drugs. The combination can produce extremely low blood pressure, respiratory depression, difficulty breathing, coma, or even death.

Rohypnol also may produce complete or partial amnesia about the events that occur after it is ingested.

When Rohypnol is smuggled into this country, it is usually in tablet form. The pills are white and round, smaller than a dime. They are often distributed in their original packaging -- foil-backed, clear plastic "blister-packs" or "bubble packs." Sometimes the packages may be opened and the pills may be ground up or crushed into a powder. Rohypnol is occasionally found in liquid form.

If Rohypnol is dropped into a drink, it may dissolve and become "invisible."

Across the country, there are reports of people "dosing" other people without their knowledge by dropping whole or crushed Rohypnol tablets into a drink. The drink can be a soda, juice, punch, beer, or any alcoholic beverage. When Rohypnol is dissolved in a drink, it is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. You cannot see it, taste it, or smell it. Therefore, if you consume a "dosed" drink, you are likely to be totally unaware that you are being drugged.

Roofies, Rophies, Roaches, Forget Pill, Poor Man's Quaalude, Lunch Money (referring to the drug's low price on the street), Pappas or Potatoes (referring to the mental capacity of someone under the influence of the drug), Whiteys, Dulcitas, Negatives or Minuses (referring to the markings on the 1 mg. tablets), R-2s, Roach-2s, Circles, Rope, Rib, Trip-and-Fall, Mind-Erasers, Mexican Valium.

As of March 1999, it is illegal to possess or distribute Rohypnol in the United States. Rohypnol is a controlled substance in Schedule IV of the Federal Controlled Substances Act. It has never been approved for any medical use in this country. Rohypnol is sold as a prescription drug in other countries and smuggled into the United States. In 1996, Congress passed the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act. Under federal law, as of March 1999, simple possession of Rohypnol is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine. The distribution/administration of Rohypnol to another person without that person's knowledge and with the intent to commit a crime of violence is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine. In addition to the federal law, in some states, possession and misuse of Rohypnol is also a violation of state laws.