Rohypnol
From Drug Rehab Wiki
Rohypnol is a brand of flunitrazepam, a powerful benzodiazepine sedative and hypnotic drug (C16H12FN3O3) that is used in more than 60 countries around the globe including Mexico, Columbia, and multiple European nations as a pre-surgical anesthetic, muscle relaxant, or hypnotic for short-term treatment of insomnia. It is a derivative of chlordiazepoxide. Rohypnol was first manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche Pharmaceuticals in 1975 and became widely available in Europe and Latin America during the 1980s. It is legal for manufacturing purposes and for sale by prescription only in these regions. Flunitrazepam is chemically similar to other benzodiazepines such as Librium, Xanax, and Valium and their physiological effects, but is approximately 10 times more potent that Valium (diazepam).
Since Rohypnol is not licensed for pharmaceutical use or manufacturing in the United States, the drug, its side effects, and chemical-biology was generally unfamiliar to many medical practitioners during its nascent existence in the U.S. and was often unidentified in biological screenings. After Rohypnol started appearing in the U.S. in the 1990s, its dangers and risks became more apparent to the medical profession, law enforcement, and federal government. Rohypnol (colloquially referred to as “roofies”) is commonly known as the “date-rape drug” since its ability to induce semi-consciousness that lasts 8–24 hours and memory blackouts has led to its illicit use of facilitating rape. Rohypnol is available in 1- or 2-mm tablets to be taken orally, but can also be ground up to be snorted or mixed with liquids. It is colorless, tasteless, and odorless, making it undetectable to victims of assault when it is unknowingly mixed in their beverage. When combined with alcohol, Rohypnol can cause severe sedation and amnesia, making physical resistance impossible and inhibiting their ability to recall events afterward. Its combination with alcohol or other central nervous system depressants can prove fatal. Flunitrazepam became an illegal substance in the U.S. under the October 1996 Drug Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act.
It was already classified under Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act in 1983 to comply with the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances since little evidence was known for its potential for abuse. Although it is most often associated with drug-assisted sexual assault, Rohypnol is more commonly used as a recreational drug and became widely abused during the mid-1990s. In 1995, the World Health Organization made flunitrazepam the first benzodiazepine to require strict recordkeeping and controls by reclassifying it as a Schedule III substance. After U.S. federal and local law enforcement had uncovered over 1,000 smuggling operations involving the international importation of Rohypnol, trafficking and distribution of flunitrazepam became banned and punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Currently, the DEA is considering elevating flunitrazepam to a Schedule I substance since it is highly susceptible to abuse.
Flunitrazepam is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, attaches to protein plasma, and then quickly transfers to body tissue. Once it reaches the blood stream, a normal dosage of Rohypnol’s sedative effect takes action in approximately 30–60 minutes and lasts 8–10 hours, but remains in the body’s system anywhere from 15–66 hours. It is hard, and sometimes not possible, to detect the presence or even residual traces of Rohypnol in a urine sample after 72 hours of administration because the body rapidly metabolizes the drug. Rohypnol causes action in the GABA/GABAA receptors, producing anterograde amnesia; the individual may not be capable of recalling information surrounding the administration of Rohypnol and their experience, which compounds the determination of the time frame of a sexual assault and details about the assailant. The lack of biological evidence and drug-induced amnesia can make it difficult for law enforcement to detail an assault or for a doctor to identify its presence in emergency overdose cases. Sensitive analytical toxicology tests must be performed as close to administration as possible to identify Rohypnol in the body. Victims of Rohypnol-related rapes are often hesitant to report their sexual assaults due to their uncertainty surrounding the event; according to the U.S. Department of Justice, 60% of sexual assaults are believed to go unreported in the U.S. each year.
Some drug abusers may use Rohypnol to counteract the unwanted side effects of cocaine—such as trembling, insomnia, and paranoia—or to enhance the high of such drugs as heroin, marijuana, and alcohol. A common misconception of drug abusers is that Rohypnol can ease the symptoms of withdrawal from other substances by producing its sedative effect, but Rohypnol can be just as harmful. Rohypnol is most commonly abused among high school and college-aged adults; it is popularly smuggled and distributed in Texas and Florida. Rohypnol is also known as a ‘club drug’ and is prevalently used as raves, college parties, and gang initiations. Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, memory impairment, poor coordination, slurred speech, decreased blood pressure, lack of motor skills, visual disturbances, gastrointestinal disturbances, and urinary retention. Rohypnol can sometimes cause aggressive behavior and excitability, usually when it is combined with other substances. Rohypnol abuse can lead to tolerance and dependence and serious psychological and physical impairment such as somnolence, affected balance, and affected speech. Treatment usually requires 3–5 days of inpatient medically monitored detoxification. Overdose can cause respiratory depression, coma, and death. Because of this, it is commonly used in suicide.
Use of Rohypnol decreased around the time of the 1996 Survey in the U.S., but statistics have shown no significant change in its use and abuse in recent years. Rohypnol is found to be abused by approximately 0.4–1.3% of U.S. adolescents.
