Rohypnol... date-rape drug

[marbez10]

My best friend had her drink spiked with Rohypnol a couple of weeks ago. In fact, the dose was so lethal that it nearly killed her; her pulse dropped to 30 and she was brought back in the ambulance. Before her pulse dropped to this level... she was completely unable to move...

Fortunately, she wasn't raped, but the police have advised her that was the intention, had it not been for a guy at work who she met up with and who stuck by her side when she began acting strangely.

So... it any of you are in the habit of buying your drinks by the glass, as most of us are.... then the best advise is to change to bottles and keep your thumbs over the top. Better still, only put down an empty glass....

[frommetoyou]

I dont understand why some blokes will do this kind of thing just to get a lay. Are they that ugly that no woman will look at them.

Hope your mates recovered and that the bloke who spiked her drink die's a slow painfull death.

[marbez10]

She's getting there thanks.... but is afraid to go out now. I just wanted to post this as a warning to everyone.

Can't even begin to touch on how traumatic it was for her.... the number of times I can remember putting my drink down for a split second, or turning my head to chat to someone.... am sure there are loads of you out there who've done the same...

Just be careful...

[thehoneyant]

I'm pleased your friend is okay, it is bound to take some time before trust returns.

The pubs in my town now all use "Spikey's" in the bottle tops. It's designed to stop drinks being drugged. You place one in the neck of a bottle, insert a straw, and its clever valve device will make it nigh impossible for any unwelcome narcotics to be slipped into the drink.

There were also beer mats doing the rounds.

Don't leave your drink unattended
Don't accept drink from people you don't trust
If it tastes or smells funny, don't trust it
Remember, alcohol is the main date rape drug

[dragonmist]

Rohypnol now has blue dye in it, which changes the colour of the drink..... unless you drink Blue Curacao! So unless you don't mind drinking out of a bottle, stick to white wine, G&T, or Vodka.

[Paulwillhappy]

5 Year Manditory Sentence & Damages to the victim set at £100,000...........Assets Stripped off the accused !!!!:mad:




Lets see if the B*stards continue to do this ?

[blufairy]

As the mother of teenage daughters ( who are getting older ) and have to make more choices for themselves , this is horrendous news. But nothing new. SORRY to hear what happened to your friend :(

THANK YOU for the advice. GOOD THREAD, coming from a terrible situation. Good on you for highlighting it again. FRESH IN THE MIND, could do some good , for men and women ( as we all know, only too well men are raped too these days ). :mad:

SAD !!! SAD !!! SICK !!! ( SHAKES HEAD ). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :(

[thehoneyant]

Rohypnol now has blue dye in it, which changes the colour of the drink..... unless you drink Blue Curacao! So unless you don't mind drinking out of a bottle, stick to white wine, G&T, or Vodka.
True , The licit market.1-milligram dose (green) ones have, It's the others white 1-milligram tablet that are still abound. :mad:

More problems (in my town) for some reason, Although it is not the primary reason for its abuse, was not from Roachies but from
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid) Liquid Ecstasy


I digress, be honest we have (nearly all ) been there at one time or another purely with an overdose of Alcohol.

Be safe be aware,

[marbez10]

True , The licit market.1-milligram dose (green) ones have, It's the others white 1-milligram tablet that are still abound. :mad:

More problems (in my town) for some reason, Although it is not the primary reason for its abuse, was not from Roachies but from
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid) Liquid Ecstasy


I digress, be honest we have (nearly all ) been there at one time or another purely with an overdose of Alcohol.

Be safe be aware,

After it happened... and before we knew for sure which drug it was... I did some research, based on what she'd told me.

She had said that the 2nd drink tasted salty... which I thought odd, since Rohypnol is meant to be tasteless. However, after the blood and urine tests came back... the police said that it had been put into the 1st drink and the reason for the salty taste was because the drug had begun to alter her taste buds.

For everyone's info... she drank wine... and the drug remained colourless. It was confirmed as Rohypnol, but I had presumed it to be GHB... because of the taste she mentioned.

I also have a teenage daughter. She got the lecture of her life after this... but you have to cut the apron strings at some point and let them out there... and that's the worry.

[marbez10]

After talking with the police about this, it seems that the reason why it's often so hard to find clear cases of spiking is because so many women are reluctant to come forward. The effects are similar to being very badly drunk. In fact, that was what my friend was presumed to be at the hospital.

Rape is sometimes hard enough to prove when there are no physical injuries. Women may be just too ashamed and blame themselves for getting into such a situation. Initially my friend was no different.... told the police to go... wasn't going to prosecute... afraid of comebacks, etc.

It was only after it was actually confirmed as such a lethal dose of Rohypnol that she began to get a little stronger. Unfortunately, no-one has yet been caught...

It seems to me that trivialising it as being an over-estimated offence is a mistake.... and without sounding too sexist... probably made by men, with absolutely no idea of the psychological effects that might make an offence like this stay unreported.

[thehoneyant]

I agree entirely, as an ex PC, I came across many similar situations. As you say the trauma of the reporting such offences, does tend to hinder being able to (find the culprit) by that I mean that If no action is taken, the whole episode slips the net, and stops further enquiries. Then they become nothing but a statistic.
And IMHO statistics don't beat crime.

I know there are guidelines as to the treatment of victims. But if they can't be persuaded to take it further, there is very little that can be done.
Surprisingly the number of reported offences who then do not want to take it further, are by as many Men as Women.

[marbez10]

I know there are guidelines as to the treatment of victims. But if they can't be persuaded to take it further, there is very little that can be done.
Surprisingly the number of reported offences who then do not want to take it further, are by as many Men as Women.


That must have been a very frustrating part of your job...

[rainbowcraft]

THANK YOU ALL for this thread....it's one thing that I had forgotten about with my *rearing* teenage daughters....

After reading this thread, I spoke to my eldest (16) and told her about date rape drugs etc....and I just spoke to her (at her mate's house) and she said she has spread the word to her mates and has seriously taken my advice to heart....

So THANK YOU. All reminders are very well accepted!

[razamakaz]

My daughter is 15 and I have always worried this may be her one day - I will make her read this thread to reiterate the consequences of being out drinking!

[marbez10]

THANK YOU ALL for this thread....it's one thing that I had forgotten about with my *rearing* teenage daughters....

After reading this thread, I spoke to my eldest (16) and told her about date rape drugs etc....and I just spoke to her (at her mate's house) and she said she has spread the word to her mates and has seriously taken my advice to heart....

My daughter (15) was horrified at how easily it was done. However, I think that what has thrown her the most is the fact that my friend died in the ambulance and was brought back.

I had never even considered that as a possibility. I can only thank God that she wasn't raped... I'm not sure she would ever have got over that...

Thank you all for listening.

[funky_fudge_factory]

I remember reading recently of a young man being drugged and raped too..... it is absolutely hurrendous that ANYONE would want to do that to someone.

[MadcatwomanEnterprises]

How awful, hope she is okay.

A mate at college did a presentation on some research she had done. She had been spiked once, and knew several of her friends had, plus she worked in a nightclub and knew of several people in the club who had reported being spiked. In her research, over 20% of people she asked at random, of age 16-40 had been spiked - scary. At her club they give away free tops for the bottles, so the straw fits through and nothing else can, and they also give away kids which have been provided by the police, so drinks can be tested on the spot, a different colour result is relevant to different drugs, one colour for Rohypnol, another for GHB, another for Ecstacy etc.

It was a really eye-opening presentation, makes you fear for your kids when they get out in the big wide world.

[marbez10]

I remember reading recently of a young man being drugged and raped too..... it is absolutely hurrendous that ANYONE would want to do that to someone.

Brought the Jeffrey Dahmer victims to mind... not sure I've spelled that right. I believe his young, male victims were all drugged with something before being hacked up.

I also believe drink-spiking goes on far more than we realise... but with most women being advised to stick together nowadays or if young, being picked up by parents, symptoms may just get blamed on excessive drinking.

In my friends case however, her dose was much more lethal, stayed in her system for days and made her look like a stroke victim. There was no way that drink alone would have done that to her.

[sweetmimi]

How is your friend now I hope that she can get over this and move on Maybe victim support could help.
The main thing is as well that they need to be told Do not leave your drink on the table while you go to the loo a lot do that and end up like this.

[damian_steele]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4397899834

Spikey Drink Protector anti date rape drug.spikeys x20

Genuine spikey drinks protector as seen on T.V. and in the press

first ebay seller of genuine item


Are you worried about your drinks being spiked in pubs and clubs?

Simply push this clever little plug into the top of your bottled drink and insert a straw. You can then be confident that your drink cannot be spiked with any type of date rape or other drugs. cannot be removed.

Comes in assorted colours, in bags of 20

only £1.20+ 60p postage


add 20p extra postage for additional bags.

http://i8.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/f3/ec/e8_1_b.JPG



The seller has 100% positive feedback.

Seems like it may be a good idea to buy some of these and give them to the kids. There are currently 39 lots left available.

[thehoneyant]

They are supplied free in most Pubs, and Councils also supply them.
Worth a phone call. :)

Some good advice here. http://www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/06/427afb06a8132

[damian_steele]

The quoted piece from thehoneyant above does not appear to tell the whole story and appears to give the wrong impression of what was actually reported.

IT’S HARD TO FIND just one clear example of spiking. In fact, a survey by the Institute of Biomedical Science found that "despite a large number of requests for flunitrazepam [Rohypnol] analyses, very few positives have been found." The institute concluded: "It is felt that its use in ‘date rape’ is vastly overestimated."

Full version :

'Date rape' drugs
Over the past few years there has been considerable media interest in the alleged use of drugs to render victims unconscious to facilitate rape. The drug highlighted in the media is Rohypnol, whose active constituent is flunitrazepam. However, this drug is not widely available and a number of other drugs could be used for this purpose - and have been detected by FSS scientists in cases of this type.

If toxicologists were to look for all possible drugs in a suspected 'date rape' case, many analyses would be needed. Therefore, the more information that can be provided about the circumstances of the case, the easier it is to target likely drugs - for example, information about the delay to the sample being taken, any information relating to the drugs the suspect may have had access to, any prescribed drugs and may medical conditions.

It is also important in all cases of suspected 'date rape' that blood and urine samples are obtained as soon as possible after the incident is reported.

Despite a large number of requests for flunitrazepam analysis, very few positives have been found. Although this could be due partly to the long time delays before the victim has sufficient recall of events to report the incident to the police, it could also indicate that the use of flunitrazepam for this purpose in the UK is not that widespread.

To date, all those cases where flunitrazepam has been detected have had a foreign connection. This is probably because the drug is more readily available abroad. There have also been relatively few seizures of flunitrazepam in the UK, and so it is felt that its use in 'date rape' is vastly over estimated.

However, although the evidence to date suggests that the use of Rohypnol in alleged 'date rape' is not as widespread as reports in the media might suggest, some genuine cases have been encountered. This means that the suggestions of drugs being used for this purpose should always be considered seriously.

IBMS Article (http://www.ibms.org/index.cfm?method=science.general_science&subpage=general_forensics_about_FSS)


Having read the longer version I suggest that the dangers of date-rape drugs have not been trivialised by either the male or female author of the piece.

[damian_steele]

They are supplied free in most Pubs, and Councils also supply them.
Worth a phone call. :)

Yes, maybe so.

But I suggest that, like a condom, it is always better to take one/some just in case they aren't available for whatever reason.

Of course I'd suggest having the condom for a different use as it may make your drink taste funny otherwise. :)

[damian_steele]

The full version you quoted, is not from the article I highlighted.

Quite right, it isn't. The piece you highlighted has been taken from the correct article which I highlighted.

The author of the piece you quoted from stated that their information came from the Institute of Biomedical Science which is exactly where I got the full length version from.

The full length article I found was located using a line of the text from your quote. You have obviously come across a piece by someone who was paraphrasing the original much longer article and in doing so, that person has selectively quoted to the point of being misleading.

This is hardly a subject for point scoring.

Neither is it a subject for starting needless petty fights over. Despite your obvious paranoia (again!) you've neglected to look at the facts. YOU were not accused of writing the incorrect information. I specifically stated that I had problems with the piece you quoted, yet you have decided to take umbridge (AGAIN!) and kick off as though I were insulting you.

I Make sure my child understands the simple truth. Then hopefully follows advice.

Marvellous. I'm sure everyone agrees that you are wise in doing so and nobody has a problem with such good advice.

[funky_fudge_factory]

Well I have bought some for our eldest.. and they will be served with abed of lecturing and a side dish of BE CAREFUL.

In my paypal message I have advised that the seller might want to start listing on ebid as well... and join us in the forum for some pimping as this subject has been highlighted..

s'all right them fitting in beer and alcipops bottles, warrabout wine bottle ay? :D :D *hic* ahhhhhhhhhhhhh It hink I need to got to bed

[marbez10]

Despite what the media may or not say regarding date-rape, my own opinion is that it's far more common than we would like to think. I know of 2 others who have since told me that they believe their drinks were tampered with in the past because of strange behaviour/symptoms. However, I suppose all depends on how much was actually put into the drink, how much was drank and if that person was left alone or left with friends.

My friend is no fool. However, she entered into a pub on her own to meet up with friends and was probably singled out as a target for that reason. The reason she wasn't raped was because a guy from work stuck by her side when she began to act strangely. The only reason an ambulance was called was because she collapsed and her pulse was weak. The only reason the police were called is because she called me on her mobile, mumbling all sorts that made alarm bells go off, so I called them.

So... taking all of those things into account, together with the fact that the hospital assumed she was just a very bad drunk, it's really not surprising that a lot of cases never get brought before the police.

... and that's not including the no. of folk out there (men as well) who may be too embarrassed or ashamed to go forward with it... particularly if it ends in rape.

She's much better now... but hasn't been out since. She was very lucky...

[pauldchrisw]

Hello there
just to let you know that i am selling "spikeys" on ebay (Username Paja43) will be selling on here shortly too
Regards

[pauldchrisw]

thanks funky_ fudge_factory for your order on ebay will be taking your advice and sell them on here too will be posting tomorrow Monday hope you like them tell all your friends to get buying have just received new supplies plenty of packets left

[pauldchrisw]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4397899834




The seller has 100% positive feedback.

Seems like it may be a good idea to buy some of these and give them to the kids. There are currently 39 lots left available.
Damian thanks for putting my ebay listing on here

[rainbowcraft]

Hello there
just to let you know that i am selling "spikeys" on ebay (Username Paja43) will be selling on here shortly too
Regards

Welcome to eBid Paja :)

[damian_steele]

Damian thanks for putting my ebay listing on here

No problem.

I look forward to seeing your eBid listings here soon too.

:)