# Date Rape Drug Reaction **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206 "2004-10-31T22:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/1 "2004-10-31T22:55:57Z")
I tried to think of a better title for my question, but nothing occurred to me. A friend of mine was at a Halloween party last night and seems to feel confident that something was slipped into her drink. I wasn’t there; she’s in California. She doesn’t remember how she got home, but she was sick. She is almost positive nothing else happened, but she’s curious what could have been put in her drink that would have caused that reaction. By “sick,” it sounds like she must have felt terrible and probably threw up. Does that make it more likely it was any drug or kind of drug? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/2 "2004-10-31T23:25:52Z")
Did she eat any shellfish of any sort that day? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/3 "2004-10-31T23:56:42Z")
I’d have to ask. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/4 "2004-11-01T00:06:38Z")
IIRC, alcohol exacerbates shellfish poisoning because of the presence of a compound in the shellfish which is chemically similar to disulfiram (Antabuse). This happened to my wife and I recently. We ate some bad green mussels for lunch at a sushi bar. 2 hours later she was doing a great Linda Blair imitation all over the Wal-Mart parking lot. I, however, felt fine. Later that night, though, I fixed myself a vodka martini and settled in to watch some TV. I got less than half the martini down before I was driving the porcelain bus. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/5 "2004-11-01T00:55:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I tried to think of a better title for my question, but nothing occurred to me. > > A friend of mine was at a Halloween party last night and seems to feel confident that something was slipped into her drink. I wasn’t there; she’s in California. She doesn’t remember how she got home, but she was sick. She is almost positive nothing else happened, but she’s curious what could have been put in her drink that would have caused that reaction. By “sick,” it sounds like she must have felt terrible and probably threw up. Does that make it more likely it was any drug or kind of drug? A date rape drug should knock a woman out, and not make her sick. Vomiting females aren’t all that inclined to mate. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/6 "2004-11-01T01:05:07Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > A date rape drug should knock a woman out, and not make her sick. Vomiting females aren’t all that inclined to mate. I know what they’re _supposed_ to do. I’m wondering if improperly dosed or if something just reacted unusually, any date rape drug could cause the reaction I described. ---
**Author:** ![mitchythekid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@mitchythekid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mitchythekid)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/7 "2004-11-01T01:12:04Z")
I would go to your doctor,get your blood tested for micky fin substances,should narrow it down.Alittle expencive,but if you really want to know,that would do it!! Talk about your STRAIGHT DOPE. LOL 😛 ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/8 "2004-11-01T03:28:36Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > A date rape drug should knock a woman out, and not make her sick. Vomiting females aren’t all that inclined to mate. So-called ‘date rape’ drugs do not make the female inclined to do anything except pass out, so that she can then be raped. They are not aphrodisiacs. Vomiting may not be a reaction until awakening. Or, the vomiting may be related to too much alchohol which leads me to… perhaps alchohol was the drug in her drink – which has been known to cause black outs and vomiting. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![tryout1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@tryout1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tryout1)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/9 "2004-11-01T03:38:20Z")
Does your friend know anyone else who was at the party? If so, maybe she could ask them if they noticed what she was doing or how she was behaving or when and how she left. Maybe they could also compare notes about whether anyone else had the same reaction she had, or whether any of the partyers has a reputation as someone who might doctor a drink. (And I hate to say this, but if she went alone to a party where she didn’t know anybody, she took a foolish risk.) ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/10 "2004-11-01T06:08:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I tried to think of a better title for my question, but nothing occurred to me. > > A friend of mine was at a Halloween party last night and seems to feel confident that something was slipped into her drink. I wasn’t there; she’s in California. She doesn’t remember how she got home, but she was sick. She is almost positive nothing else happened, but she’s curious what could have been put in her drink that would have caused that reaction. By “sick,” it sounds like she must have felt terrible and probably threw up. Does that make it more likely it was any drug or kind of drug? Alcoholics often blackout. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/11 "2004-11-01T07:21:38Z")
what **tryout** said made me think: what if it were food poisoning? If it were a party where appetizers were left out for a long time … perhaps that is it. Querying the other guests is a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/12 "2004-11-02T04:06:26Z")
GHB, a popular date rape drug, is definitely vomit-inducing, whether taken purposefully or slipped into someone’s drink. This does pose questions as to why a guy would want to rape a girl covered in semi-digested food and alcohol, but, well, I hear rapists really aren’t that picky. How much alcohol did your friend drink? The girls I know who have had their drinks spiked (and there have been quite a few, which is really sad, including a bartender who was working when it happened) all said they only had one or two drinks and ended up feeling like they’d had ten- dizziness, blackouts, vomiting. They also all went to the hospital and had blood tests that confirmed the presence of rufies in their systems. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/13 "2004-11-02T05:38:29Z")
If her level of sedation obviously exceeded her typical reaction to the amount of alcohol she consumed, then it’s highly probable that she was drugged. Unless serious intoxication was apparent to a casual observer, I’d blame it on whatever she was drinking. GHB or even a single pill of valium can seriously potentiate alcohol… and vice-versa. If she’s worried about future occasions, she should take my advice: 100 proof liqour or better. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/14 "2004-11-02T07:30:56Z")
A friend of mine had a similar reaction after drinking a redbull mixer to stay awake!! ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/15 "2004-11-02T09:13:58Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > If her level of sedation obviously exceeded her typical reaction to the amount of alcohol she consumed, then it’s highly probable that she was drugged. Actually, maybe not. From this Australian [paper](http://www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/pubs/briefing/b2.html): > [@](#): > > The largest forensic studies on drink spiking have been conducted in America, and revealed high levels of alcohol, and much lower than expected findings for central nervous system (CNS) depressants, like Rohypnol and GHB. Slaughter’s (2000) analysis of 2,003 specimens revealed GHB in 5.4 per cent, and flunitrazepam (FN), the benzodiazepine known as Rohypnol, in only 0.5 per cent of specimens. Although the numbers detected were small, the use of GHB and FN actually appeared to decline over the two-year study period. Alcohol was present in 63 per cent of the samples, and marijuana in 30 per cent. Similarly, Elsohly and Salamone (1999), with a sample of 1,179 specimens, found alcohol in 40.8 per cent, marijuana in 18 per cent, benzodiazepines in 8 per cent, and GHB in 4 per cent of specimens. Despite the low levels of “rape drugs” and high amounts of alcohol indicated by these studies, many subsequent reports concerned with drug facilitated sexual assault continued to focus exclusively on illicit drugs (for example, Schwartz et al. 2000; Smith 1999). > > To date, there has been only one forensic study conducted in Australia to detect drugs in samples from victims specifically reporting drink spiking to police. **Toxicology tests conducted by the Chemistry Centre in Western Australia between June 2002 and February 2003 on 44 cases of alleged drink spiking detected none of the CNS depressants normally associated with drink spiking, such as the benzodiazepines, GHB and ketamine** (although it was acknowledged that GHB is extremely difficult to detect, even with early reporting). However, alcohol was present in 75 per cent of samples, with 31 per cent of all cases showing blood alcohol concentration levels in excess of 0.15 per cent. In the majority of cases, the level of alcohol was significantly higher than anticipated, based on the victim’s self-assessment of consumption. Young people often overestimate their alcohol tolerance and underestimate the volume of alcohol that they have consumed. Drink spiking does occur, but it appears most cases are usually a matter of simple drunkenness. ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/16 "2004-11-02T09:39:13Z")
> [@mitchythekid](#): > > I would go to your doctor,get your blood tested for micky fin substances,should narrow it down. Actually, this would probably be a worthless endeavor. Date rape drugs are very quickly metabolized. Most are undetectable in blood quite quickly, and are only found in urine for a short time longer. IIRC, it is unlikely any test would find these substances after 12 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/17 "2004-11-02T11:21:48Z")
> [@Badge](#): > > Actually, this would probably be a worthless endeavor. Date rape drugs are very quickly metabolized. Most are undetectable in blood quite quickly, and are only found in urine for a short time longer. IIRC, it is unlikely any test would find these substances after 12 hours. I figured that was the case. I didn’t think she’d have that kind of money to spend on a question that’s just academic anyway. Thanks to those who’ve posted so far, it’s been helpful. More input is definitely welcome. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/18 "2004-11-06T16:58:59Z")
Looking at the study, it would seem that the number one date rape drug is alcohol. _“Can I buy you ladies a drink?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/19 "2004-11-06T17:06:50Z")
> [@mitchythekid](#): > > I would go to your doctor,get your blood tested for micky fin substances,should narrow it down. Just for the record, it’s Mickey Finn, not micky fin. A Mickey Finn is specifically knockout drops–chloryl hydrate in alcohol ([cite 1](http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/Mickey+Finn) and [cite 2](http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Mickey-Finn))–and could only be considered a date rape drug if you’re into sex with unconscious people. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206/20 "2004-11-06T17:15:15Z")
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Royphynol (roofie), the original date-rape drug, though perhaps they are just not around anymore. I wouldn’t know. I could tell you a bit about that one, though it doesn’t sound like what happened to your friend. It doesn’t generally make you sick. It just intensifies the feeling of drunkness by about 10-fold, and it blacks out everything, making it the perfect date-rape drug. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-drug-reaction/272206.md?page=2)