The Predator’s Tool Box
By Steve Kardian
Beware ladies! If you’re out on a date or in a social setting and you hear cute words like swirl, special k, liquid e, scoop, blue nitro, forget pill. ruffies or fantasy, then date rape drugs like GHB, Rohypnol and Ketamine may be in the house! Even worse they may be in your drink!
The predator has developed a new method of introducing these drugs. They are now commonly being carried in visine bottles, contact lens solution, nose drop bottles, breath mint bottles and squirt guns … Yes, squirt guns! Even that cigarette you’re offered may contain the date rape drug ketamine.
Rapists now have in their sinister tool box more than a couple of methods to render their victim helpless and law enforcement are left to put together a puzzle with many of the pieces missing. GHB, Rohypnol and Ketamine all have one thing in common…. “Amnesia” The victim will likely not be able to provide law enforcement with who, what, when, where and how. Which are some of the basic questions we need to know.
Rohypnol (Ro-hip-nol)
This is the oldest of the date rape drugs. Rohypnol is the trade name for flunitrazepam. Some of the common street names for this drug are roofies, rope, forget pill, and Mexican valium. It’s up to 10 times more powerful than valium and produces a slowing of physical and mental responses, muscle reflexes and amnesia. The drug usually begins to take effect in about 15 to 20 minutes and full effect in 30 to 60 minutes. The drug looks like aspirin and is colorless and odorless when mixed with beverage, usually alcohol.
Initially the victim may feel confused, disoriented and light headed. As the drugs effect progresses, the victim will experience a loss of inhibitions and eventually the victim may be rendered unable to resist an attack. The effects of Rohypnol can be dangerously enhanced when combined with alcohol. Some victims describe an almost “out of body experience” where they are aware of what is going on but can not react or resist. Depending upon how much has been ingested; the effects may persist for 12 hours or more. The drug’s metabolic properties are detectable in urine for up to 72 hours after ingestion.
Rohypnol—is manufactured worldwide, particularly in Europe and Latin America, in 1- and 2-milligram tablets by Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., a large pharmaceutical manufacturer. However, the drug neither is manufactured nor approved for medical use in the United States. The drug is administered in surgery where the patient may have to respond or cooperate during surgery. In Mexico the tablet can be bought for about 40 cents and sold in the United States from anywhere between two and six dollars. It is generally mailed or smuggled across the borders. Several packages seized in Miami in past years were shipped from Cali, Colombia, and contained up to 11,000 dosage units each.
Since February 1999, reformulated Rohypnol tablets, which turn blue in a drink to increase visibility, have been approved and marketed in 20 countries. The old non-colored tablets are still available, however. In response to the reformulated blue tablets, people who intend to commit a sexual assault facilitated by Rohypnol are now serving blue tropical drinks and punches in which the blue dye can be disguised.
According to Pulse Check: Trends in Drug Abuse, Rohypnol is now the least available club drug in the United States. Nevertheless, Los Angeles and El Paso report that the drug is widely available. The remaining Pulse Check sites report it as somewhat, not very, or not at all available, however, my research indicates that rohypnol is readily available in the southern region of the United States from southern California to Florida.
GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate)
This is the predator’s tool of choice. It’s easily concealed and transported and just as easy to introduce to a potential victim. This date rape drug is powerful and carries with it potentially deadly consequences. This drug goes by the name of G scoop, jib, liquid e, liquid x, grievous body harm, easy lay, salty water, women’s Viagra, swirl and “the date rape drug” to name a few.
GHB was actually available at health food and drug stores and advertised as a steroid that would enhance muscle tone and strength. In the late 80’s early 90’s I recall responding to aided calls involving otherwise healthy bodybuilders that were unexplainably unconscious and or in respiratory distress.
The most popular form of GHB will be a clear, odorless and tasteless. Some victims have reported that it has a mild salty taste. It can be carried in most anything that will host a small amount of liquid. Some common carriers are eye drop bottles, nasal spray bottles, 35mm film containers, mouth wash bottles, contact lens drops or solution and soda bottles. In some instances GHB has been found in powder form. GHB is the drug that Andrew Luster, of the Max Factor fortune, used to drug his victims and video tape his sexual assaults upon them.
History
l 1960’s: Synthesized initially as an anesthetic
l 1970’s: Used in clinical trial for narcolepsy
l 1980’s: GHB introduced to public health food stores
l 1990: FDA bans GHB from health food stores due to related illnesses and deaths
l 1991: FDA and Dept. of Justice had taken enforcement action
l 1993: DEA begins documenting GHB cases
l 1996: First cases of GHB use for sexual assault
l 1997: FDA re-issues GHB talk paper
l 1999: FDA warns about GBL asks for voluntary recall
l March 13, 2000: GHB becomes a Federally Controlled Schedule I drug; GBL and BD list I Chemicals
l July 17, 2000: FDA approves Xyrem for medical use (treatment of narcolepsy)
GHB is a rapidly acting central nervous system depressant. One of the reactions to this drug is reduced respiratory capacity. The body forgets to breath. The gag reflex is reduced and the victim also faces the danger of aspirating vomit into the lungs. Symptoms are greatly enhanced when mixed with alcohol and when the dose is too powerful for the victim’s body composition. Additionally, there is a fine line between intoxication and respiratory distress, coma and or death. The drug is so popular among the predators because of its intoxicating effect and the side effect of diminished memory. The amnesia effect is very powerful and the victim may remember very little if anything of the sexual assault. Other signs and symptoms are giddiness, sudden burst of energy and loss of inhibition, dizziness, slurred speech, loss of muscle control, vomiting and/or the appearance of “falling asleep”/”passing out.”
Symptoms will vary widely depending on dose and concentration. Onset of the symptoms begin within 5 minutes. Symptoms generally last 3 to 6 hours. The victim may recall starting to feel euphoric, and increased feeling of sexual excitement and then passing out. GHB leaves the body rapidly and may not be detected in the body 8 to 12 hours later.
GHB is easily made in home laboratories. It is made in bathtubs, in 5 gallon buckets and on stove tops. Recipes are available over the internet. A dose or cap full of GHB sells for between $5 and $25 dollars.
Ketamine (key-ta-mean)
This is a relatively new date rape drug. The drug was introduced in the early 1960’s and originally created for use as a human anesthetic is still used for children, persons of poor health and veterinary medicine. It was also used during the Vietnam War to treat injured solders. Ketamine is produced by the drug manufacturer Parke-Davis. As Rohypnol is associated to valium, Ketamine is closely related to the drug PCP.
Some common street names for this drug are Special k, “K” or vitamin k. A single dose is sometimes referred too as a bump.
Ketamine usually comes as a liquid in small pharmaceutical bottles and is most often cooked into a white powder for snorting by intentional users. The drug can also be injected or placed into a beverage, usually alcohol. Some rapists inject the liquid form into a cigarette, allow it to dry and then offer it to the potential victim. At low doses the drug has a mild dreamy feeling. Victims report feeling like they are floating and slightly outside their body. Numbness of the extremities is also common. The initial high gives way to amnesia and the victim is unable to give details of the sexual assault.
Intentional users refer to the high caused by Ketamine as the “K hole” and describe a profound hallucination that includes visual distortion, a lost sense of time, and identity.
If introduced into a beverage the effects begin in about 15 to 20 minutes. Amnesia may last for one or two hours. One of the side effects of this drug is flashbacks that can occur for up to two weeks. The drug may be detectable in the body for up to 24 hours. A major source of the drug is through burglaries of veterinary hospitals. Sometimes the only thing taken during a burglary of a veterinary hospital is injectable bottles of ketamine.
Tips to avoid being a statistic
In the world that we live in today not only do you need a designated driver when you venture out for a night on the town but you also need a designated friend to watch out for any unusual behavior you may exhibit. They should also look for the efforts of a stranger or and acquaintance to lure away. Here are some tips for safety.
Do not accept a drink from anyone that you don’t trust with your life
Never leave your drink unattended
If your drink tastes salty, soapy, cloudy or has particles in it, discard it
Listen for the “fizz” on twist bottles
Listen for the sound of a breaking seal
Be aware that the top to a plastic bottle of water can be opened, contaminated and resealed or glued to appear to be unopened
Drinking from a glass or wide mouth bottle makes it easier to tamper with
Don’t drink from a common punch or juice bowl
Discuss strategies with your friends on what to look for and what to do if you suspect that you have be drugged by a predator
If you think something has been slipped into your drink get to someone you trust, go to the hospital and take your drink with you
Ask to be tested for date rape drugs as soon as possible. The drugs leave your system rapidly
GHB, Rohypnol and ketamine are used for sexual attacks, pranks, robberies and attacks on males too
Listen to your good senses … If you feel that a guy is a creep, then he most likely is
Be aware that bartenders may work in concert with predators to spike your drink with one of the date rape drugs.
Defend University
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