Although the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is June 26, it is difficult for me to wait for this summer date to express myself on a dangerously rising curve that colors my daily life. Ketamine, GHB, Rohypnol and different types of benzodiazepines like Rivotril, Xanax and Halcion have been favored by rapists for three decades.
It was a real calamity at the time, and we can officially declare that this mechanism has turned into a disaster today. The Samuel Moderies (the Tinder rapist) and the Vincent Carrières (gang rape enthusiasts) of this world accumulate many victims with these psychotropics under the guise of a blood-chilling “social trivialization”.
Yes, we have firmly dropped the bullet from our conscience on a tennis court that plays tournaments continuously. Whether it’s warning our teenage girls, wives and friends to carefully watch their drinks when they go out, or remaining silent in the face of mounting post-traumatic shock statistics caused by silent crimes. Victims of amnesia hold within themselves severe physical and sexual assaults like a heavy anvil on which they will never be able to put their finger.
There were 1,441 medical exams done on sexually assaulted patients in 2021 alone. Despite an overwhelming 94%, it would be a lie to say that such criminal acts only happen to women, members of the LGBTQIA community are also strongly affected. Have the curiosity to talk about it just a little around you and I guarantee you that two people around you, at least, will raise their hands and say they have suffered this trauma.
Festivals, music shows and large outdoor events remain the main hotbeds for trapping potential prey. There are now mini syringes designed to go through clothing. The sting is so delicate that you barely feel any pressure. As with conventional medical devices, if the syringe is not sterilized, the person receiving the dose without their knowledge is also at risk of infection. This phenomenon is so common that it is now called needle spiking or wild sting. Best known in the nightclubs of the UK and Ireland, it seems that this practice has sadly crossed borders to us. There is also GHB in powder, capsule or transparent liquid, odorless. A slight soapy or sometimes salty taste may betray its presence, but it remains largely undetectable.
Much like naloxone can bring someone back from an opioid overdose, there is no antidote to counter the effects of GHB poisoning. When the de-escalation is visible and the victim is clearly unconscious, only a few drugs can neutralize the depressive fall by stagnating the person’s body state.
There are Ketamine and GHB test kits made in coasters, lids, and straws. There’s even a nail polish that was developed in 2017. It comes in several bright colors and you just have to dip your finger in the cocktail for it to detect the molecule and turn black, revealing the ketamine, ecstasy or the GHB contained in your usual pinot grigio. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until 30 years after date rape drugs hit the market that a motion was passed unanimously in the National Assembly on March 15 to expand the distribution of these drugs. tests in all hospitals and, more partially, in pharmacies.
The denial is so overwhelming that there has never been any question of providing these tests free of charge to merchants, bar owners and restaurateurs. GHB stays in the body for 12 hours. If a test is not carried out soon after taking, the substance becomes difficult to detect. Why not do prevention at the source of the problem, directly in the establishments where this kind of situation is likely to happen?
As a government is representative of its population, both it and we are responsible for the consequences of our inaction on this highly thorny subject of date rape drugs.
