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Rohypnol
(Flunitrazepam)
Street terms for
Rohypnol: R-2, Mexican Valium, rophies, roofies, circles1
What is the form
of Rohypnol?
- Rohypnol is manufactured
in pill form. The licit market for the drug is currently supplied with
a 1-milligram dose in an olive green, oblong tablet, imprinted with
the number 542. The new tablet includes a dye that, according to Hoffman-La
Roche (the makers of Rohypnol) will be visible if it is slipped into
a drink.
What are the methods
of usage?
- Rohypnol is usually
taken orally in pill form, but can also be crushed and snorted.2
Who uses Rohypnol?
- In Latin America
and Europe, the medicine is prescribed to patients as a short-term treatment
for insomnia, and as a preanesthetic medication.
- Rohypnol continues
to be abused among teenagers and young adults, usually at raves and
nightclubs.3
How does Rohypnol
get into the United States?
- Rohypnol is usually
smuggled into the United States by way of mail or delivery services.
- The drug remains
readily available, mainly through pharmaceutical operators located in
Mexico, especially Tijuana.4
How much does Rohypnol
cost?
- Reports indicate
that Rohypnol is often sold for between $2 and $5 per dosage unit, although
it may sell for from $10 to $30 per dosage unit.5
What are some of
the consequences of Rohypnol use?
- One of the significant
effects of the drug is anterograde amnesia, a factor that strongly contributed
to its inclusion in the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment
Act of 1996. Anterograde amnesia is a condition in which events that
occurred while under the influence of the drug are forgotten.6
- In addition to
the chemically induced amnesia, Rohypnol often causes decreased blood
pressure, drowsiness, visual disturbances, dizziness, confusion, astrointestinal
disturbances, and urinary retention.7
- Development of
physical and psychological dependence.8
1Office
of National Drug Control Policy, Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug
Trade.
2National Institute on Drug Abuse, Community
Drug Alert Bulletin: Club Drugs, December 1999.
3Drug Enforcement Administration, Club
Drugs: An Update, September 2001.
4Ibid.
5Ibid.
6Ibid.
7Ibid.
8Ibid.
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