Sensor Easily Detects Date Rape Drugs In Drinks

Date rape drugs can be added to a person's drink, making them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. A new sensor that could look like a tiny stirrer or straw can be placed in the drink and accurately tell whether it has been spiked.

Creators and developers of the sensor, Professor Fernando Patolsky and Doctor Michael Ioffe of Tel Aviv University's school of chemistry, say that it looks like a straw and can simply be dipped into a drink. In the final production they may make it look like a stirrer.

The tiny device does not even have to be help up to the light to get a reading.

Ioffe said:

"We haven't decided how it will let you know. Maybe it will just light up, or a part of it will rotate or maybe it will send a signal to your cell phone because you want to be discreet about it."

The researchers say their device is 100% accurate.

According to the US Department of Justice, approximately 200,000 women were raped in the USA after consuming a spiked drink in 2007. Sadly, only about 16% of them reported the incident.

The majority of the victims are teenagers or young adults. The spiking generally occurs at clubs or bars. Worldwide, it is thought that at least half a million women are raped each year after consuming adulterated drinks.

In their study, the researchers randomly selected 50 drinks from a series of cocktails and blind tested them with a developed solution. They say the detection was 100% accurate for several drugs, including ketamine and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid).

The team are seeking financial backing to create a device that can detect Rohypnol, also known as roofies, a drug commonly used to sedate victims of date rape.

Date rape drugs are drugs that are used to facilitate a sexual assault, such as date rape. They may have amnesiac, dissociative, hypnotic, and/or sedative effects, and can be added to drink or food without the attacker's prey knowing.

Adding these substances to drinks is known as drink spiking. People may do this out of malice, weird amusement, or for theft or sexual assault.

The three most popular date rape drugs are alcohol, GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), and benzodiazepines, such as flunitrazepam (Rohypnol or roofies). Alcohol is still the most commonly used drug in substance-assisted sexual assault.