Action Committee Against Narcotics Chairman Professor Daniel Shek said there were 8,916 drug users reported in the first six months of the year, 1.7% more than the same period last year. The number of drug users under 21 years old rose from 2,106 to 2,175. Shek said he is particularly concerned about drug users aged 12 to 15, the number of which has grown 25% from 204 to 256.

The number of newly reported female abusers under 21 increased 19.3% from 409 to 488. There were 47 drug users under 21 found in schools during the first half of the year, exceeding the 46 found for all of last year.

Shek said more young people have been identified because the popular drug ketamine is cheap and more users are willing to turn themselves in. He said there are more female users as it is easy for them to get free drugs, and some have the misconception that they can lose weight by taking amphetamines.

Committee members endorsed the trial scheme on school drug testing in Tai Po at their quarterly meeting today. It was agreed that a consultant will be hired to study the trial, due to start in December. The consultant will suggest long-term anti-drug strategies. A report is expected by August 2010.

Commissioner for Narcotics Sally Wong said the government is looking to increase sites for community drug rehabilitation. Non-governmental organizations will also soon be invited to express interest in providing the service.

Beyond an almost immediate sense of euphoria and loss of inhibition, date rape drugs pose a serious threat to users, many of whom are unsuspecting. Imagine going to a club and waking up the next morning, bruised and sore, evidence of sexual activity present – and you have no recollection of any of it. It’s what happens in those intervening hours that’s every parent’s nightmare – and one that’s just beginning for the victims.

What They Are

The four date rape drugs are substances that render a person incapable of resisting unwanted sexual advances and assaults resulting in rape. Both men and women are potential victims.

Ecstasy (MDMA) is a synthetic chemical that can be derived from the oil of the sassafrass tree. The drug produces similar effects as amphetamines and hallucinogens. These street drugs are notoriously unpredictable due to questionable purity, drug strength and combination of chemicals added.

Ketamine is a surgical anesthetic and veterinary sedative. When used in humans, it produces a dissociative anesthetic effect.

Rohypnol is a prescription sedative/depressant (not manufactured or available in the U.S. legally, but common on the street). It comes in doses of .5, 1 and 2 milligram strength. The drug’s manufacturer recently changed the drug’s formula so that it changes color when added to liquid.

GHB (gammy hydroxyl butyrate), a colorless and odorless liquid, acts like a depressant and anesthetic to the central nervous system. It was banned in the U.S. in 1990 and is also illegal in Canada and parts of Europe. It is made in illegal drug labs or by home chemists and sold on the street.

Common Slang

Street names for date rape drugs depend on the type of drug. Ecstasy has street and slang names that include: E, Adam, X, XTC, bean, clarity, essence, Stacy, lover’s speed and Eve.

On the street, GHB has names such as: easy lay, EZ lay, liquid dream, liquid ecstasy, Elle, grievous bodily harm, liquid X, X, X rater, XTC, chemical X, scoop, scoop her, and get-her-to-bed.

Ketamin is called: ket, special K, K, super K, OK, KO, vitamin K, ket kat, Kid Rock, and make-her-mine.

Rohypnol street names include: roofies, ruffles, ruff up, rigde, roche, Roach 2, rophy, rib, R2, R2-Do-You, forget-me pill, and Mexican valium.

Identifying a Date Rape Drug

Ecstasy comes in pill form in varying colors, usually white, yellow or brown, with various sizes and shapes, often stamped with a symbol or brand name. GHB is a colorless, odorless liquid. Ketamine looks like an off-white powder in undiluted form. When diluted, it appears to be cloudy water. Rohypnol comes in a small white pill with a split line on the pill on one side and the name “Roche” (the worldwide producer Hoffman La Roche) and a stamped numeral 1 or 2 in a circle on the other side.

How Date Rape Drugs Are Used

Sexual predators crush pills or pour liquid date rape drugs into unsuspecting victims’ drinks and food. Since most of the date rape drugs are colorless and odorless and extremely fast acting, victims have no defense against them. They become unconscious but still capable of movement, and have no memory of what transpired afterward – and no ability to identify their attackers. This makes date rape drugs extremely dangerous and the perpetrators difficult to find and prosecute.

Effects of Date Rape Drugs

Date rape drugs quickly enter the bloodstream, rendering the victim unconscious in a very short period of time. While unconscious, however, they retain some bodily movement. To an onlooker, the person may just appear inebriated. Sexual predators feign affection so that to passersby, it simply looks like concern. Or they could say their partner has “had a little too much.” While the drug is in the victim’s system, they’ll have little or no memory of what happened.

Victims may appear to be overly affectionate and uninhibited due to the drug’s quick-acting effects. They cannot think clearly or make appropriate judgments, however, and are therefore passive in the face of attack.

All drug traces leave the body within 72 hours after ingestion. No standard blood tests or toxicology screens will detect the drug. Again, this makes it difficult to prosecute.

How They Hurt You

The worst effect of date rape drugs is that you are raped. Not only that, but you may also suffer beatings or be raped repeatedly and by many individuals. You may contract one of several sexually-transmitted diseases. You could become pregnant.

Rape is a psychologically and emotionally scarring event that requires counseling to overcome. Beyond the immediate effects, there are consequences that may ruin a victim’s life. Having to make a decision about a child conceived during the course of the date rape, or becoming unable to bear children as a result of a sexually-transmitted disease, facing the shame and guilt arising from the rape – all of these have profound long-term effects on the person who was raped.

Date rape drugs have numerous negative side effects, including:

• Increased heart rate, pulse, blood pressure

• Unconsciousness

• Severe respiratory difficulty

• Seizures

• Coma

• Death

Signs that you (or someone close to you) have been raped include:

• Bruising and soreness in the genital and anal areas

• Bruising and soreness on the thighs (both inner and/or outer)

• Bruising and soreness on the arms and wrists

• Scratches and bruises that may indicate you put up a struggle

• A hung-over feeling despite having consumed little or no alcohol

• Hallucinations

• Fleeting memories of being intoxicated (without consuming drugs or alcohol)

Are Date Rape Drugs Addictive?

With repeated use, Rohypnol can become addicting, as can ecstasy. GHB, used repeatedly, can lead to severe withdrawal reactions after an overdose, especially if used in combination with alcohol and other drugs. Ketamine binging, according to the NIDA, produces behavior similar to that of amphetamine- and cocaine-dependent individuals. Users can also develop ketamine tolerance and cravings.