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Rohypnol Essay

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ROHYPNOL
By
Jenet

Rohypnol is a drug commonly known as the date rape drug. According to the article “Drug-Facilitated Date Rape,” by Erica Weir, Rohypnol is not a legal drug in the United States or Canada but it is legal in 62 countries in Europe, Africa, Latin American and the Middle East. It is one of the most commonly used sleeping pill or anti-anxiety drug (Benzodiazepine) in these countries. People can get Rohypnol by prescription. Its main function is to depress the central nervous system. Rohypnol is given t some patients before surgeries because it lowers blood pressure and that reduces bleeding.
A pharmaceutical firm known as Hoffmann-La Roche in the 1970s first …show more content…

They also say that if you dance then the drug will leave your body as you sweat. Tests can be done to detect Rohypnol in someone’s system for up to 72 hours. Rohypnol has been found in rape cases and it is increasing. Women are warned that if they go out they should have their eyes on their drinks or just take their drinks with them wherever they go. This is because some people crush Rohypnol and place the powder into women’s drinks. This intensifies the alcohol and they get drunk quickly. This gets the to not be fully aware of what they are doing and it can lead to problems. When Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. heard that their drug was being used to drug people, they changed the pill so that it takes 40 minutes for it to dissolve, and that way the drink takes longer to become affected. But even though the company has changed the pills, people are still not sage because illegal manufacturing of Rohypnol is taking place. It is colorless and odorless. For this reason Hoffmann-La Roche created an ad campaign to let people know of the illegal manufacturing of the drug.
According to the article by Dominich A. Labianca, “Rohypnol selectively affects synaptic processes in the brain brought about by the central nervous system neurotransmitter y-amino butyric acid (GABA)” (pg. 719). These processes involve the transfer of nerve impulses between neurons and effecter cells. The effecter cells are the cells

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