Drug-Facilitated Crime

Drugs or alcohol may be used to compromise an individual's ability to consent to sexual activity. When used, these substances they tend to minimize the resistance and memory of the victim of a sexual assault.

Alcohol remains the most commonly used substance in sexual assault, but there are other substances used by perpetrators including Rohypnol, GHB and GBL.

How these substances work:

They are typically odorless, colorless and tasteless when placed in liquid (except for GBL).
Five to 30 minutes after ingestion, the victim of the drugging may struggle to talk or move and may become unconscious or unresponsive.
At this point, the drugged individual is vulnerable to assault.
A survivor of such an assault may have virtually no memory of the events that occurred.

These drugs are dangerous and extremely difficult to detect because they leave the body rapidly, leaving little time for testing and detection:

Rohypnol is undetectable within 36-72 hours of administration.
GHB is undetectable within 10-12 hours of administration.
GLB is undetectable in urine within 6 hours and the blood stream within 24 hours of administration.

Drug-facilitated crime commonly happens in college settings when someone uses a predatory drug to spike someone’s drink. A predatory drug, however, can be any substance that’s used intentionally to impair you, or prohibit you from asserting yourself. The best way to protect yourself is to know more about commonly-used predatory substances, how they work, and how to get help if you think you or a friend has been a victim of drug-facilitated crime.

Click here for our virtual brochure on how to reduce your risk from drug-facilitated crime.

Campus Resources
USC Police Department (803) 777-4215
Counseling & Human Development Center (803) 777-5223
Substance Abuse Prevention and Education (803) 777-7716