You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Flunitrazepam and Its Involvement in Date or Acquaintance Rape

  1. Deirdre Anglin MD1,*,
  2. Kelvin L. Spears MD2,
  3. H. Range Hutson MD3

Article first published online: 29 SEP 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.1997.tb03557.x

Issue

Academic Emergency Medicine

Academic Emergency Medicine

Volume 4, Issue 4, pages 323–326, April 1997

Additional Information

How to Cite

Anglin, D., Spears, K. L. and Hutson, H. R. (1997), Flunitrazepam and Its Involvement in Date or Acquaintance Rape. Academic Emergency Medicine, 4: 323–326. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.1997.tb03557.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, Department of Emergency Medicine

  2. 2

    Martin Luther King Jr./Charles Richard Drew Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, Department of Emergency Medicine

  3. 3

    Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, Department of Emergency Medicine

*Department of Emergency Medicine, Room 1011, Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center 1200 North State Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, Fax: 213–226–6454; e-mail: anglin@hsc.usc.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 29 SEP 2008
  2. Article first published online: 29 SEP 2008
  3. Received October 28, 1996; revision received: December 6, 1996; accepted: December 15, 1996.

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

Get PDF (449K)

Keywords:

  • flunitrazepam;
  • date rape;
  • acquaintance rape;
  • sexual assault;
  • Rohypnol;
  • benzodiazepine

ABSTRACT

An estimated 1 in 4 women in the United States will be raped in their lifetimes. Approximately 75% of all rapes are date or acquaintance rapes. Recently the illegal use of flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), a benzodiazepine, as a prelude to the assault has been reported. Flunitrazepam readily dissolves, and once in solution, is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. The predominant clinical manifestations are drowsiness, impaired motor skills, and anterograde amnesia. Due to the amnestic effects of flunitrazepam, historical clues of the rape event are difficult to obtain. Patients with a complaint of sexual assault who appear intoxicated or have anterograde amnesia should be suspected of unknowingly ingesting flunitrazepam. In addition to adhering to standard rape protocols, a urine specimen should be analyzed for flunitrazepam metabolites using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. If the hospital, local, or forensic laboratory is unable to analyze for flunitrazepam, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., the manufacturer of Rohypnol, should be contacted. Hoffmann—La Roche has a mechanism for definitive testing for flunitrazepam, at no cost, for health care providers, rape treatment centers, and law enforcement agencies. A network of organizations is attempting to reduce the abuse of flunitrazepam in association with date rape.

Get PDF (449K)