If you're a woman, you probably know to never leave your drink unattended at a bar. Unfortunately, date rape is a fact of life and Rohypnol is commonly used to drug unsuspecting women, making them less combative during rape. Rohypnol, also known as the "date rape drug", is a very potent tranquilizer that produces a sedative effect, amnesia, muscle relaxation and a slow down of psychomotor responses. Ultimately, rapists can slip a Rohypnol tablet into an unsuspecting woman's drink and she will likely not feel the effects until he has "escorted" her somewhere to sexual assault her in private. However, Rohypnol isn't the only date rape drug available. Other drugs include GhB and Ketamine are also used to achieve the same results as Rohypnol.
Scientists in Israel may have found one solution to the devastating use of some of these date rape drugs. With a handy straw, women can detect if there is GhB or Ketamine in their drink with a simple stir. The straw can be used as many times as a woman would like, and if it detects either GhB or Ketamine, it will change colors. Currently, the straw cannot detect the presence of Rohypnol, but the scientists say they are also working on a solution to that problem.
An estimated 1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime and one of the most common places that women will be assaulted is at a night club. Date rape drugs are easily accessible and cheap–making them a potent and lethal method of sexually victimizing women. The other aspect of date rape drugs is that they are odorless and tasteless, rendering them undetectable. The date rape straw could help stem this horrific and serious problem.
