Post by Sempai Terry on Apr 28, 2005 13:09:57 GMT -5
from this morning's newspaper
Men sneaking date-rape drugs into girls' drinks
LIZ MONTEIRO
WATERLOO REGION (Apr 28, 2005)
Teenage girls as young as 14 are seeking counselling for sexual assault after being given date-rape drugs, a local crisis centre says.
This month, counsellors took an increased number of calls about Rohypnol, Ketamine and GHB, commonly-known as date-rape drugs, said Anna Haanstra, spokesperson for the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre.
The agency gets about 100 crisis calls a month, she said. This month, about a dozen calls were from young Cambridge women between 14 and 18 or from their mothers. This figure represents an increase in calls from Cambridge, Haanstra said.
"The fact that we have seen an increase shows us it's an issue beyond the cases we have seen," she said. "Most women don't know to call us."
The young women told counsellors they had awakened in strange places and concluded they had been given date-rape drugs, Haanstra said. The men involved were 18 or 19 years old, she said.
Haanstra, who called The Record with her concerns, said the callers to the crisis centre either live in Cambridge or were in the city when they ingested the date-rape drugs.
Waterloo regional police said sexual assaults are occurring because of date-rape drugs circulating in the region.
"It's out there,'' Staff Sgt. Bryan Larkin said. "There are those out there who choose to prey on others.''
Larkin said he did not have specific numbers to show an increase but said some young teenagers are reluctant to come forward because they worry they'll get in trouble for drinking.
Most of the young women say they were at social gatherings, and the drugs were dissolved in alcohol drinks. Haanstra said she couldn't reveal any other details.
All three date-rape drugs are similar in that they are tasteless, odourless and come in either a clear liquid or white powder.
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) and Rohypnol, the trade name for flunitrazepam, are central nervous-system depressants.
Rohypnol is known as roachies, la rocha and the forget pill, while GHB is referred to as liquid ecstasy or Liquid E.
Ketamine, formally known as ketamine-hydrochloride, is a tranquilizer used in veterinary hospitals. On the street, the drug is known as Special K, K or Vitamin K. The anesthetic drug can lead to unconsciousness and temporary paralysis.
Date-rape drugs can be made inexpensively and recipes are often found on the Internet, Haanstra said.Women who take the drugs have periods of time that they don't remember and often experience a hangover or other symptoms the next day, she said.
The drugs also give takers an increased energy, happiness, desire to socialize and loss of co-ordination.
Haanstra said the agency encourages the women to call police but would never itself call police directly.
Instead, the agency works with police and informs them of trends they see, she said.
For more information on date-rape drugs, a free session will be held at Catholic Family Counselling on Queen Street. A police officer and a worker with the Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Treatment Centre will speak about the drugs on May 25 at noon.
SAFETY TIPS
Watch your drink at all times. If you can, pour it yourself.
Be cautious and aware of yourself and how your friends are feeling. Look out for your friends.
Go with friends to social gatherings and leave with your friends. Make an agreement and don't break the pact, no matter how nice a young man is.
Know the warning signs. If after two drinks, you feel incoherent, be wary of your drink.
If you need help, call the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre crisis line at 741-8633.
Men sneaking date-rape drugs into girls' drinks
LIZ MONTEIRO
WATERLOO REGION (Apr 28, 2005)
Teenage girls as young as 14 are seeking counselling for sexual assault after being given date-rape drugs, a local crisis centre says.
This month, counsellors took an increased number of calls about Rohypnol, Ketamine and GHB, commonly-known as date-rape drugs, said Anna Haanstra, spokesperson for the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre.
The agency gets about 100 crisis calls a month, she said. This month, about a dozen calls were from young Cambridge women between 14 and 18 or from their mothers. This figure represents an increase in calls from Cambridge, Haanstra said.
"The fact that we have seen an increase shows us it's an issue beyond the cases we have seen," she said. "Most women don't know to call us."
The young women told counsellors they had awakened in strange places and concluded they had been given date-rape drugs, Haanstra said. The men involved were 18 or 19 years old, she said.
Haanstra, who called The Record with her concerns, said the callers to the crisis centre either live in Cambridge or were in the city when they ingested the date-rape drugs.
Waterloo regional police said sexual assaults are occurring because of date-rape drugs circulating in the region.
"It's out there,'' Staff Sgt. Bryan Larkin said. "There are those out there who choose to prey on others.''
Larkin said he did not have specific numbers to show an increase but said some young teenagers are reluctant to come forward because they worry they'll get in trouble for drinking.
Most of the young women say they were at social gatherings, and the drugs were dissolved in alcohol drinks. Haanstra said she couldn't reveal any other details.
All three date-rape drugs are similar in that they are tasteless, odourless and come in either a clear liquid or white powder.
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) and Rohypnol, the trade name for flunitrazepam, are central nervous-system depressants.
Rohypnol is known as roachies, la rocha and the forget pill, while GHB is referred to as liquid ecstasy or Liquid E.
Ketamine, formally known as ketamine-hydrochloride, is a tranquilizer used in veterinary hospitals. On the street, the drug is known as Special K, K or Vitamin K. The anesthetic drug can lead to unconsciousness and temporary paralysis.
Date-rape drugs can be made inexpensively and recipes are often found on the Internet, Haanstra said.Women who take the drugs have periods of time that they don't remember and often experience a hangover or other symptoms the next day, she said.
The drugs also give takers an increased energy, happiness, desire to socialize and loss of co-ordination.
Haanstra said the agency encourages the women to call police but would never itself call police directly.
Instead, the agency works with police and informs them of trends they see, she said.
For more information on date-rape drugs, a free session will be held at Catholic Family Counselling on Queen Street. A police officer and a worker with the Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Treatment Centre will speak about the drugs on May 25 at noon.
SAFETY TIPS
Watch your drink at all times. If you can, pour it yourself.
Be cautious and aware of yourself and how your friends are feeling. Look out for your friends.
Go with friends to social gatherings and leave with your friends. Make an agreement and don't break the pact, no matter how nice a young man is.
Know the warning signs. If after two drinks, you feel incoherent, be wary of your drink.
If you need help, call the Kitchener-Waterloo Sexual Assault Support Centre crisis line at 741-8633.