DE Campus Life Editor

The makers of Rohypnol have changed the drug’s formula as a preventative measure, but its dangerous potential still exists, SIUC police warn.

Rohypnol, or flunitrazepam, is a date-rape-drug used to induce amnesia in unsuspecting victims. Colorless, tasteless and odorless, it dissolves easily in drinks and foods.

Advertisement

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., a Swiss pharmaceutical company, has added a blue dye to Rohypnol and changed the drug’s composition so that it leaves a filmy residue in substances to which it has been added.

Those methods have been developed to deter Rohypnol’s criminal use, but that does not mean Rohypnol ceases to be available in its former version.

The new formula is out, but there still is a tremendous amount of the drug out there, SIUC Police Sgt. Nelson Ferry said. The drug is present in the state of Illinois, and I still tell men and women to be extremely careful when they go out.

Ferry, who works in the department’s crime prevention unit, organizes about 40 sexual assault prevention seminars for University Housing resident assistants each year. He said Rohypnol’s link to date-rape makes the drug a consistent seminar topic.

Known by a variety of street names, such as roach, roofies, the forget pill and rope, Rohypnol is a sedative 10 times more potent than Valium. The drug is meant to aid people with sleeping disorders, and about 1 million people in 64 countries use Rohypnol daily to treat severe insomnia.

Rohypnol produces an intense, sleepy feeling for users. This usually leads to blackouts and permanent memory loss.

The drug takes effect within 30 minutes, peaks within two hours and may persist for up to eight hours or more.

Advertisement*

There has been one confirmed Rohypnol-related rape in Carbondale and at least four suspected cases.

But before Rohypnol became known as a date-rape drug, the primary abuse of the drug was for an inexpensive $2 to $3 high per pill.

The drug prevention network Teen Challenge (http://www.teenchallege.com) reports Rohypnol use by high school students as a cheap way to get drunk and as a cure for hangovers. College students mix Rohypnol with beer to enhance drunkenness, and the drug has been used in combination with marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Although Rohypnol abuse has been reported in about 36 states, it neither is manufactured nor legally sold in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement and Administration website, Rohypnol is marketed in Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia and usually is smuggled into the United States through the mail or delivery services. Rohypnol has been encountered by U.S. law enforcement agencies in Southern states from California to Florida.

Today, more people are aware of Rohypnol because of media reports and people, such as Ferry, who spread information about the drug.

And Ferry wants to make sure the public stays aware of Rohypnol’s potential. If taken unknowingly, Rohypnol’s consequences even can be life-threatening.

Part of the problem is that the person administering the drug may use too much, he said. If that person puts Rohypnol into someone’s alcohol drink, it can be fatal.

We’ve been talking about Rohypnol for the last year and a half because of the media blitzes, but people still need to be careful.