(17 Jul 1996) English/Nat
A drug used by sex offenders to sedate female victims is under investigation by the U-S Senate.
The sedative, Rohypnol, has become known as the 'date rape' pill.
It is widely prescribed for sleeping disorders in many countries but is banned in the U-S, although there is a thriving illegal trade.
This is the drug Rohypnol, that was introduced on to the pharmaceuticals market as a sedative but has become highly sought after on the black market.
Even though its use and even its importation are now banned in the United States, the drug has become increasingly popular among teenagers as a powerful intoxicant which rapidly delivers a drunken high.
But, even more disturbing to the U-S government is the use of the drug by sexual predators - men who put Rohypnol in a woman's drink and rape them while they are disabled by the effects of the drug.
Joy Diliello had never heard of the sedative Rohypnol until it was used by someone she knew to drug and rape her.
SOUNDBITE:
"I was at a friend's home, and this was someone that I trusted, and he offered me a coke and I drank it. And fifteen minutes after I drank the Coke I started to feel, I got chills and hot flushes and I started to feel dizzy. So I asked if I could lie down on the couch, and I did. And that's all I remember until I woke up the next morning, in his bed, without my clothes."
SUPER CAPTION: Joy Diliello (pronounced De-Lillo), rape victim
She was giving testimony to the U-S Senate about how Rohypnol is used by sexual predators.
They're considering ways to crack down on the drug.
Rohypnol, made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche, is a prescription medication used worldwide by one million people each day.
It is widely used to treat sleep disorders, and as a surgical anaesthetic.
Hoffman La Roche has never sought approval for Rohypnol in the United States, but in the last three years, illegal use of the drug has become increasingly popular among young Americans.
General Barry McCaffrey from the Office of National Drug Control Policy thinks the appeal of Rohypnol is like cocaine or amphetamines.
And the risks are just as serious.
SOUNDBITE:
"It overcomes a sense of insecurity, it gives intense pleasure. And if that was the end of it might be okay. Unfortunately they develop dependencies, and tolerance, and then become addicted and then it shatters their lives."
SUPER CAPTION: General Barry McCaffrey, Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Rohypnol has become an especially attractive drug to teenagers.
"Roofies," as the drug is popularly known, enhances and prolongs an alcohol high and is available at a street price of roughly one U-S dollar per pill.
Jim Copple, who heads a nation-wide anti-drug coalition, has watched Rohypnol use spread across the country.
He is concerned not only about the popularity of the drug among Americans who take Roofies themselves, but also how it is being used to take advantage of other, unsuspecting individuals.
SOUNDBITE:
"Others are using it - and this is what has caught most of the media attention - in drug- rape kind of situations, where drinks are being spiked with a drug and they are using it to conduct sexual assault, they are using it to do criminal assault - stealing somebody's car keys, taking their car. They are beginning to use it for property crimes, and that kind of thing."
SUPER CAPTION: James Copple, President, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
For her, 'roofies' aren't a drug, they are something that is much more dangerous.
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