Rape pill in a drink straw — how to recognize that intoxicants have landed in your drink?
We call it the rape pill, but in fact it doesn’t have to have much to do with the pill. All it takes is a straw or a patch to give someone intoxicants, and the ingenuity of criminals is endless. So how can you tell when someone has slipped something into your drink? What to do when it happens? What to watch out for in the city?
It started with a visit to a trendy pub. An ordinary outing for wine with a friend turned out to be quite “unusual.” Already after dipping their lips into the first glass, the girls realized that something was wrong. With each sip it only got worse. Although they felt sober, their bodies began to refuse to obey.
This is how a very common and dangerous situation that can happen to any of us every so often can begin.
The rape pill — what you don’t know about it
The rape pill doesn’t have to be a pill at all. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), the chemical we know by that name, is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It comes in the form of:
- powder,
- tablet,
- liquid,
- patches or stickers,
- can be found inside beverage straws.
GHB by perpetrators of violence is most often added to drinks, because it dissolves well in liquids, and alcohol enhances the effects of this substance (they can be felt as early as 15 to 30 minutes after taking it). Rape pill is also sometimes called a similarly acting drug — ketamine, a very strong and fast-acting anesthetic drug.
One searches in vain for statistics on rape pill intoxication and sexual abuse of people under its influence. What is the reason for this? After taking a rape pill, a person is often unable to even think about the fact that he should document the intoxication and report the case to the police. And in such situations, time is of the essence, because GHB acid is very quickly absorbed and excreted from the body. From the moment of administration, it can only be detected in the blood for 6–8 hours, and it persists in the urine for 10 -18 hours. In addition, perpetrators of crimes continue to experiment with a variety of other substances that can be used to stupefy the victim. In order to detect the so-called rape pill, blood for toxicological testing should be taken up to a few dozen (usually 24) hours after taking most drugs. After a longer period of time, urine becomes a much better and often the only material suitable for toxicological testing. After 72 to 96 hours from the time of the incident, the concentration of the substance, both in blood and urine, can fall below the detection limit of most analytical methods.
Due to procedures, however, testing at a hospital is not always an option. The acid test itself often cannot be performed “on the spot” at the facility without first reporting the crime to the police. In cases of physical or sexual violence, hospital staff have an unconditional duty to receive and provide assistance. However, if we do not want to report the case to the police, but want to perform a test for substances in the body, such a test can be performed in a private laboratory (if financially we can afford it).
An alternative to a blood test can be hair. As an alternative material, hair shows durability, non-invasive collection and no special storage requirements (room temperature). Victims are advised to wait about 1 month after the incident and undergo analysis.
Rape pill — what to do?
What do you do if you suspect that you have taken or have taken (because the problem also affects men!) a rape pill? How to behave when you have the impression that your friend has been slipped something into her drink? First of all, you should focus on safely transporting the poisoned person home. When intoxicated, it is best that such a person is in a safe place, preferably in bed, on the couch, somewhere where he can fall asleep. The decision to report the matter to the police can and should only be made by the person who has been victimized. Some people don’t feel up to it or simply don’t want to report the matter to the police, and that’s ok. If there has been sexual violence involving poisoning with a so-called rape pill — it is worth calling directly the emergency number available in your country.
And how do you protect yourself from unknowingly taking an intoxicant (other than keeping an eye on your drink, of course, which may not be enough)? There are drink testers that are designed to detect the presence of a rape pill. Is it worth investing in them? This is a very subjective decision. Some people will feel more confident with drink testers, others will feel anxious or pressured to check. First, however, we should be aware. The so-called drink test is not authoritative as well as it does not pick up all the mixes, but only two possibilities of substances (ketamine and GHB acid), which are hidden under the name “umbrella”, or so-called rape pills. In addition, when we drink alcohol with a black color, the detection of “extra” substances in the drink is very hard.
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