Date rape drug

A date rape drug, also referred to as a predator drug, is any drug that is an incapacitating agent which, when administered to another person, incapacitates the person and renders them vulnerable to a drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), including rape. The most common types of DFSA are those in which a victim consumes a recreational drug such as alcohol administered surreptitiously. The most common form of DFSA is alcohol-related, with the victim in most cases consuming the alcohol voluntarily. Other date rape drugs include rohypnol, ketamine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).

There is currently no comprehensive data on how frequently DFSA occurs with the use of surreptitious drug administration. The lack of data is due to the low report rate of assaults and because rape victims who do report are often either never tested for these drugs, are tested for the wrong ones, or the tests are administered after the drug has been metabolized and left their body.

A 1999 study of 1,179 urine specimens from victims of suspected DFSAs in 49 American states found six (0.5%) positive for Rohypnol, 97 (8%) positive for other benzodiazepines, 48 (4.1%) positive for GHB, 451 (38%) positive for alcohol and 468 (40%) negative for any of the drugs searched for. A similar study of 2,003 urine samples of victims of suspected DFSAs found less than 2% tested positive for Rohypnol or GHB. The samples used in these studies could only be verified as having been submitted within a 72-hour time frame or a 48-hour time frame. Some of the substances tested for, such as GHB, are not detectable after 8–12 hours.

A three-year study in the UK detected sedatives or disinhibiting drugs that victims said they had not voluntarily taken in the urine of two percent of suspected DFSA victims. In 65% of the 1014 cases included in this study, testing could not be conducted within a time frame that would allow detection of GHB. A 2009 Australian study found that of 97 instances of patients admitted to hospital believing their drinks might have been spiked, illicit drugs were detected in 28% of samples, and nine cases were identified as "plausible drink spiking cases". This study defined a "plausible drink spiking case" in such a way that cases where (a) patients believed that their drink had been spiked, and (b) lab tests showed agents that patients said they had not ingested would still be ruled out as plausible if the patient did not also (c) exhibit "signs and symptoms" that were considered "consistent with agents detected by laboratory screening."

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