English: Drug facilitated sexually based assault: [14,165]

Due to a couple recent attacks, including a rather vicious sexual assault on a friend’s mother, that left her traumatized and hospitalized for many weeks. I am writing this article, for the readers to understand and I cannot stress enough, to protect yourself from sexual assault. My friends mother was unwittingly drugged, when she drank from a water bottle at a local park, the Hospital found traces of Rohypnol in her system, she is very lucky to be alive, the sexual assault was extremely vicious.

Re: Alcohol, it seems,  is the number one legal substance that is used to facilitate sexual assault and rape. There are other drugs (listed below) that can be used to this effect, often by slipping them into a potential victim’s drink. When a person is drinking alcohol:

• It's more difficult to think clearly and evaluate a potentially dangerous situation. 
• It's harder to verbalize consent or non-consent.
• Drinking too much alcohol can also cause black-outs and memory loss.  

Remember: Even if a victim of sexual assault drank alcohol he or she is NOT at fault for being assaulted. The law explicitly states that when a person is incapacitated, consent cannot be given.

The drugs listed below often have no color, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavored drinks without the victim's knowledge. The ones most commonly used are:

• GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid)
• Rohypnol (flunitrazepam)
• Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride)

These drugs look like:
• GHB has a few forms: a liquid with no odor or color, white powder, and pill.
• Rohypnol is a pill and dissolves in liquids. New pills turn blue when added to liquids. However, the old pills, with no color, are still available.
• Ketamine is a white powder.

Heres some effects of these drugs on the body:
The drugs can affect you quickly. The length of time that the effects last varies. It depends on how much of the drug is taken and if the drug is mixed with other substances, like alcohol. Alcohol can worsen the drug's effects and can cause more health problems. Also, one drug — GHB — can be made by people in their homes, so you don't know what's in it.

GHB can cause these problems:
• Can't remember what happened while drugged
• Coma
• Dizziness
• Dream-like feeling
• Drowsiness
• Nausea
• Problems breathing
• Problems seeing
• Relaxation
• Seizures
• Slow heart rate
• Sweating
• Tremors
• Unconsciousness (black out)
• Vomiting
• And even death

Rohypnol can cause these problems:
• Confusion Loss of Memory
• Difficulty with motor movements
• Dizziness
• Drunk feeling
• Loss of consciousness
• Lower blood pressure
• Muscle relaxation or loss of muscle control
• Nausea
• Problems seeing
• Problem with speaking
• Sleepiness
• Stomach problems

Ketamine can cause these problems:
• Aggressive or violent behavior
• Convulsions
• Distorted perceptions of sight and sound
• Dream-like feeling
• Feeling out of control
• Hallucinations
• Impaired motor function
• Loss of coordination
• Lost sense of time and identity
• Numbness
• Memory problems
• Problems breathing
• Slurred speech
• Vomiting

These drugs are not legal in the United States:
Some of these drugs are legal, but that doesn't mean they're not going to hurt you. Even if they're legal, you should not use them unless your health doctor  prescribes them. Ketamine is legal in the U.S. for use as an anesthetic for humans and animals. It is mostly used on animals. Veterinary clinics are robbed for their Ketamine supply.    Rohypnol is NOT legal in the United States, though it is legal in Europe and Mexico and prescribed for sleep problems and as an anesthetic. It is brought into the United States  illegally.   Though, GHB was recently made legal in the U.S to treat problems from narcolepsy.

Protect yourself from being a victim, of a sexual based addault by:
• Do not accept drinks from other people.
• Open all containers yourself.
• Keep your drink with you at all times, even when you go to the bathroom
• Don't share drinks.
• Don't drink from punch bowls or other large, common, open containers.  They may already have drugs in them.
• Don't drink anything that tastes or smells strange. Sometimes, GHB tastes salty.
• Have a non-drinking friend with you to make sure nothing happens.  
 
Now, if you think that youmight  have been drugged and raped:
Call the Police or other law enforcement agency.  You can be taken to a Hospital for a medical exam and a “toxicity” test, which will test for the presence of any drugs. Don't urinate before getting help. Don't douche, bathe, or change clothes before getting help. These things may give evidence of the rape. Feelings of shame, guilt, fear and shock are normal. It is important to get counseling from a trusted professional.   These drugs leave your system quickly. Rohypnol leaves your body 72 hours after taken. GHB leaves the body in 12 hours.

In the United States: for more information...

• The National Women's Health Information Center at 800-994-9662
• Drug Enforcement Administration, DOJ
[http://www.usdoj.gov/dea]
(202) 307-1000
• Food and Drug Administration, OPHS, HHS
[http://www.fda.gov/]
(800) 332-4010 Hotline or (888) 463-6332 (Consumer Information)

• National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, HHS
 [http://www.drugabuse.gov/]
(800) 662-4357 Hotline or (800) 662-9832 Spanish Language Hotline

• Office of National Drug Control Policy
[http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/index.html]
(800) 666-3332 (Information Clearinghouse)

• Men Can Stop Rape
[http://www.mencanstoprape.org/]
(202) 265-6530

• National Center for Victims of Crime
[http://www.ncvc.org/]
(800) 394-2255

• Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network
[http://www.rainn.org/]
(800) 656-4673 (656-HOPE)

As always, stay safe !

bird

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