Over The Edge Page 2 January 26, 1998 Rohypnol — government launches Campaign against invisible drug BY CRAIG SAUNDERS Source: B.C. Bureau Stories abound in North American media about women being drugged at par- ties and raped. And the blame is being piled squarely on a drug called Rohypnol. The American magazine Glamour recently featured an article on just such a situa- tion. Ayoung woman was at a party, and someone slipped a drug into her drink. She blacked out, and since one side-effect of the drug is memory loss, she wasn’t even sure if she had been sexually assaulted. Such stories are now com- monplace throughout the Canadian media, and late last year, just as the festive holidays got underway, B.C. Women’s EqualityMinister Sue Hammell announced a public awareness campaign in response. “It's a time when people do a lot of socializing,” Hammell said of thetiming of her announcement. “So from that perspective, it’s a very dan- gerous time.” Hammell says one B.C. municipality suspects it is experiencing three cases of Rohypnol-related sexual assault every month, but adds this is difficult to prove. “Unless you deal with the physical facts right away, the evidence is gone,” she said. The minister wants people to be aware of the threat, and recommends that when at a bar, individuals should keep an eye on their drinks. “People have to watch out for each other,” she said. But the threat of being drugged with Rohypnol is negligible, according to RCMP officials, who have no This space for rent Stop by the Over the Edge office in the Winter Garden or Call 960-5633 evidence of its use in connec- tion with sexual assault in B.C. “There has been no seizure of Rohypnol in B.C. or in Canada,” Wayne Jeffries, head of toxicology, said. “There are, [however], numerous other drugs that have similar effects to Rohypnol,” he said. Rohypnol belongs to the benzodiazephine family of drugs, which include Valium and Halcion, and which the Women’s Equality Ministry says have been implicated in connection with sexual assault. According to Jeffries, drugs with almost identical charac- teristics to Rohypnol are available by prescription in Canada. Rohypnol, while legal in Canada, is not mar- keted here. It is available in Europe, Australia and Maude Barlow, Volunteer National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, will be speaking at UNEC: Tuesday, January 27th at ‘om in roan 7-150 (MAT) . Maude Barlow coming to UNBC Mexico. It, and the variants available in Canada, are “tasteless, odorless and dis- solve in anything,” Jeffries said. “| do the follow-up counseling [for the sex- ual assault service]. One of the problems with date rape drugs is it’s particularly trauma- tizing when you. don’t know what happened.” Anneke Van Vliet, coordinating counselor of Sexual Assault Service, B.C. Women’s Hospital. “Everybody is jumping on the media bandwagon,” he said, adding that the precau- Maude Barlow Ms. Barlow will be gpeaking cm the topic of the Multinational Agreement on Investment Ms. Barlow will be holding a book signing with Tony Clarke starting at 6:30 pn. MAI action group W eekly meeting at the PGPIRG of fie Thursdays at 11 am. Phone 960-7474 for more info. tions are still relevant. “The precautions would be the same for all classes of benzo- diazephines.” Rohypnol pills, also known as rophies, roofies, la roche, party poppers or by a half- dozen other names, are small white pills with the name “Roch” and an encircled one or two on one side. A cross score is on the other side. Although the drug is rela- tively new, the concept of drugging sexual assault vic- tims is not. “Just go back to the 40s when chlorohydrate was mixed with alcohol,” Jeffries, who suggests this is just the latest variation on that prac- tice, said. “The use and abuse [of Rohypnol] has been blown out of propor- tion.” Although the RCMP have g \ Roses are red, Yiotets are blue, An ad in the Classifieds ° Bays “T Love You”! Are you looking for Love? (With a member of the opposite sex of the same species?) Over the Edge Valentine’s Personal Classified ads are the way to meet someone special. Drop by the Over the Edge office in the Wintergarden and have a Special Valentine's Personal Classified built for you! no clear evidence’ of Rohypnol use, there are cases of sexual assault in B.C. which may involve it or similar drugs, according to Anneke Van Vliet, coordinat- ing counselor of the sexual assault service at the B.C. Women's” Hospital. Like everyone else, however, she cannot be certain whether or not Rohypnol played a role in any of them. “It's important to know the majority of women don’t report [a rape or other sexual assault],” she said. “We only see about 200 to 250 patients a year.” Those patients go to the ser- vice for medical exams. Under certain circumstances, drug testing might be part of those exams. . ..Continued on Page 6 Oe.