The drug usually comes in a small white or tan pill that can be crushed and stored in a powder form, so it is easier to slip into a drink or snort. Rohypnol, as compared to GHB, is more inhibiting, making it the preferred drug for sexual predators. About 10 minutes after ingesting the drug, a woman may feel dizzy and disoriented, simultaneously too hot and too cold, and nauseated. She may experience difficulty speaking and moving and then pass out. Such a victim will have few or no memories of what happened, possible flashes of images even as she is raped.
Effects can last four to six hours.
It is difficult to determine the number of date-rape drug attacks because victims often don t provide a urine sample for 72 or more hours after the assault. Like other sex crimes, victims may be ashamed to report the crimes. Most victims are so uncertain about the chain of events they are hesitant to report anything at all. Rohypnol is the brand name for a drug called Flunitrazepam, which is a powerful sedative. Rohypnol is not legally available for prescription in the United States but is legal in 60 other countries for treatment of insomnia.