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“Date Rape Drugs” are commonly associated with drug facilitated sexual assault and rape. The most common “date rape drug” is alcohol. Other commonly used drugs are listed below. If you feel you have ingested any of these drugs seek immediate medical attention by calling 911 or campus security at X5555. If you have questions about testing for the presence of these substances, please contact Elizabeth Nelson at x5009(Coordinator for Student Development- Violence Prevention), Health Services or Alamance Regional Medical Center.
MDMA (Ecstasy, XTC or "hug drug")
MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure, and death. Because MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body), potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals. Studies also reveal long term brain damage in primates given MDMA.
GHB, Ketamine, and Rohypnol
GHB and Rohypnol are predominantly central nervous system depressants. Because they are often colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added to beverages and ingested unknowingly.
GHB (street names: liquid ecstasy, soap, easy lay, vita-G and Georgia home boy)
Since about 1990, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) is a central nervous system depressant that has been used in the U.S. for its euphoric, sedative, and anabolic (body building) effects. Coma and seizures can occur following use of GHB. Combining use with other drugs such as alcohol can result in nausea and breathing difficulties. GHB may also produce withdrawal effects, including insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and sweating. GHB and two of its precursors, gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4 butanediol (BD), have been involved in poisonings, overdoses, date rapes, and deaths.
Ketamine (street names: special K, vitamin K)
Ketamine is an anesthetic that has been approved for both human and animal use in medical settings since 1970; about 90 percent of the ketamine legally sold is intended for veterinary use. It can be injected or snorted. Certain doses of ketamine can cause dream-like states and hallucinations. In high doses, ketamine can cause delirium, amnesia, impaired motor function, high blood pressure, depression, and potentially fatal respiratory problems.
Rohypnol (street names: rophies, roofies, roach, rope)
Rohypnol, a trade name for flunitrazepam, belongs to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. When mixed with alcohol, Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug. Also, Rohypnol may be lethal when mixed with alcohol and/or other depressants.
Rohypnol is not approved for use in the United States, and its importation is banned. Illicit use of Rohypnol started appearing in the United States in the early 1990s. Abuse of two other similar drugs appears to have replaced Rohypnol abuse in some regions of the country. These are clonazepam, marketed in the U.S. as Klonopin and in Mexico as Rivotril, and alprazolam, marketed as Xanax.
For more science-based information on MDMA and other club drugs www.ClubDrugs.govwww.Teens.drugabuse.govor call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686. For a library of prevention efforts regarding drug facilitated rapes and sexual assault, please visit www.nsvrc.org. If you or someone you know has been assaulted please contact Becca Bishopric, Coordinator for Health Promotion – Violence Prevention and Response at 336-278-5009 or through email at bbishopric@elon.edu.