Sexual assault by an acquaintance (date rape) among young women and adolescents is an increasing phenomenon. The use of drugs for the purpose of inducing amnesia and rapid sedation of the victim is becoming more common. The lay press and public Internet sites increasingly contain information regarding these date rape drugs. In contrast, there is very little information in the medical literature regarding this issue. The purpose of this article is to review the major drugs used as date rape drugs as well as to review the modalities of detection for these drugs.
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