Fighting the ‘Date Rape’ Drug

At least two Texas women have now died after unknowingly ingesting Rohypnol, the so-called “date rape” drug identified in some notorious California cases. The latest episode involved a 15-year-old and a female friend given the drug and then raped by five men in El Paso. Authorities said an overdose of the drug killed the 15-year-old; her friend survived.

These cases cast the use of the colorless, odorless and tasteless drug into an increasingly heinous light. Most often the drug, which is 10 times more potent than Valium, is slipped into a drink. Sedation lasts approximately eight hours and the victim often cannot remember the identity of her assailant.

Rohypnol is not approved for use in this country, but it has become easy to obtain, far too easy. That’s one of the reasons why President Clinton is expected to sign federal legislation that will add up to 20 years to the sentences of convicted rapists who use Rohypnol or similar drugs to seduce their victims. That’s an important and welcome step. It follows on the heels of a strong California bill by State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), passed last month and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson, that criminalizes the possession, sale and transportation of Rohypnol.

There was shocking cause for quick passage. Two Marina Del Rey brothers, for example, had already been charged with the following crimes in connection with their alleged use of Rohypnol on female victims: attempted oral copulation of a drugged victim, rape and sodomy by drugging and kidnapping for the purpose of rape.

The legislation favored by Wilson and Clinton will strengthen and expand the sanctions already available to prosecutors. The cruel violations associated with the use of this drug demanded that kind of response.