Rohypnol:: Profile of the "Date-Rape Drug"

doi:10.1021/ED075P719

Paper

Rohypnol:: Profile of the "Date-Rape Drug"

Published Jun 1, 1998 · D. A. Labianca

Journal of Chemical Education

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Abstract

Rohypnol is one of the benzodiazepines, the class of drugs that includes such popular sedativeâ€“hypnotic agents as Librium and Valium. Although marketed legally abroad, Rohypnol is illegal in the USA. Nevertheless, it is regularly smuggled into this country and has recently achieved notoriety here as a formidable chemical weapon utilized by rapists to overpower their female victims, many of whom have been selected from the high school and college social scenes. This article describes the criminal use of this central nervous system (CNS) depressant within a chemical context and emphasizes its pharmacological effects, mechanism of action, and physiological fate or biotransformation. Moreover, the article describes another drug that, unlike Rohypnol, has legitimate medical applications in the USA but has also been used by criminals to harm others under strikingly similar circumstances. This drug is lorazepam (Ativan), another benzodiazepine with sedativeâ€“hypnotic properties. A key message of this article ...

Study Snapshot

Rohypnol, a benzodiazepine, is a powerful chemical weapon used by rapists to overpower female victims, and lorazepam, a legitimate medical drug, has also been used by criminals in similar circumstances.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

Rohypnol:: Profile of the "Date-Rape Drug"

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