ANTI-DRINK SPIKING PROGRAMME IN PUBS & CLUBS
The easy availability of Rohypnol, GHB and other "date-rape" drugs has caused embarrassment to the hosts of venues and distress to it's victims
DRINK SPIKING - MAKING YOUR VENUE SAFE
1. ROHYPNOL
Rohypnol is the brand name of flunitrazepam, a surgical anaesthetic or sleeping pill. It is around 10 times more potent than the most common prescription sleeping pills.
The pills are usually round, white, and labelled "Roche," Sometimes, the pills are ground up into a powder. Rohypnol dissolves quickly in liquid. It has a bitter taste when mixed in a drink, but like GHB, its taste may be mostly covered
Prescription versions should turn blue in a drink; counterfeit versions will not
Rohypnol tablets are called Roofies, Roach, Roofenol, Roché, La Rocha, Roll-and-Fall, Rope, or The Forget-Me Pill (and other names)
2. GHB
GHB is available as a clear, slightly salty tasting liquid or white powder
Slang / Street Names: Grievous Bodily Harm, G an others
GHB is often manufactured in homes with recipes and ingredients found and purchased on the Internet
GHB is a central nervous system depressant that can relax or sedate the body; intoxicating effects begin 10 to 20 minutes after the drug is taken. The effects typically last up to 4 hours, but overdose can occur quickly
GHB is cleared from the body relatively quickly, so it is sometimes difficult to detect in emergency rooms and other treatment facilities
3. KETAMINE
Ketamine - known as "K" or "Special K" - was developed as a surgery anaesthetic and is closely related to PCP
Ketamine is a legal prescription drug, mostly used in veterinary practice. It is a "dissociative", causing a splitting from reality
It may take the form of a white powder or as a liquid in small pharmaceutical bottles
Ketamine is odourless and tasteless
The effect of Ketamine is very quick - if put in a drink you may lose consciousness in a minute
The drug makes users delirious; it can cause hallucinations, amnesia and difficulty hearing; overdose may be fatal
