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Drug Use a Factor in Two-Thirds of Sexual Assaults
THURSDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- Drug use was a factor in nearly 62 percent of sexual assaults, and nearly 5 percent of victims were given "date-rape" drugs, a new U.S study finds. "In some cases, the substances are taken voluntarily by the victims, impairing their ability to make decisions. In other cases, the substances are given to the victims without their knowledge, which may decrease their ability to identify a dangerous situation or to resist the perpetrator," study author Adam Negrusz, an associate professor of forensic sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, said in a prepared statement. His team's study included 144 sexual assault victims who sought help at clinics in Texas, California, Minnesota and Washington state. The victims in this study ranged in age from 18 to 56, with a mean age of about 27 years. They provided two urine samples and a hair specimen, and also provided information about the sexual assault and any drugs they were using. "The urine and hair specimens were analyzed for about 45 drugs that have either been detected in sexual assault victims or whose pharmacology could be exploited for drug-facilitated sexual assaults," Negrusz said. The study found that nearly 62 percent of the victims had at least one of the 45 analyzed drugs in their system, about 5 percent tested positive for "classic" date-rape drugs, and just over 4 percent had been drugged without their knowledge. About 35 percent of the victims were impaired due to voluntary drug use at the time of the sexual assault. "This study demonstrated the need for toxicological analysis in sexual assault cases. It also demonstrated that sexual assault complainants severely underreport their illegal drug usage. This could be corrected if the administering nursing staff was better educated on taking a truthful drug history," Negrusz said. The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Justice, and can be accessed via the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. More information The U.S. National Women's Health Information Center has more about sexual assault.
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Scottish police have arrested a man and a woman after finding Britain's largest ever stash of Gamma-butyrolactone. The man in charge of the operation, Graeme Pearson, director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, called the find "the most significant discovery of the drug in the UK." 

The drug GHB in powder form

Denise Caron MacPherson, 45, and Hanan Rabin, 53, have been charged with exporting the drug, also known as GHB, to the United States between 19 April and 24 May. The news of the Scottish factory comes as a US study found drug use was involved in two-thirds of sex attacks, while 5 per cent were given an actual "date rape" drug.

Graham Rhodes for The Roofie Foundation, a helpline for victims of drug rape, said: "I am very relieved this has been recovered as in the wrong hands it is very dangerous. Not only is it used to spike the drinks of people to rape them but it's also used to assault and rob people."

Used by ravers, robbers and bodybuilders, the base chemical (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) was taken during a raid on a house and business in West Lothian. The haul would have been put on the United States illicit drug market and sold for fun and more sinister purposes.

In its non-powder form GHB is barely detectable: clear and having no smell it can be particularly potent with a few drops mixed into an alcoholic drink. Once a sufficient amount of the salty liquid has been ingested the victim can be knocked out within an hour.

While GHB is known both as  "liquid ecstasy" and the date rapist's "Plan A", the versatile compound is also used by body builders instead of anabolic steroids, by dieters and as a sleeping aid.

In Britain, GHB is a "Class C" drug which means making it, holding it and selling it is punishable with up to two years in prison. The effects of rape, for which the drug is reportedly used, can last a lifetime. Jane Cumming, from support group Crisis, said she received an average of 4 calls a week from people claiming to be victims of date rape.

The pair, who were caught in Livingston, were accused of distributing the drug in Scotland from MacPherson's house around the same time as they were exporting to the United States, while MacPherson was also charged with Cannabis possession.