ROSLYN, Wash. - A dozen young people - most of them women - were taken to hospitals after overdosing on an unknown substance that may have been slipped into their drinks at a house party in Roslyn.
Neighbors say the home is a rental house and there is usually no one there. But police say Friday night someone threw a party at the home.
The Cle Elum Police Department said the investigation started when officers and Kittitas County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a young woman at a Safeway store who had apparently overdosed and had possibly been assaulted.
"What caused great concerns to the officers was the level of intoxication to these people. The officers were talking to people that were severely intoxicated yet indicated that they'd maybe consumed one or two drinks, so intoxication beyond what would be normal for the amount of alcohol consumed," said Cle Elum-Roslyn Police Chief Scott Ferguson. Read More
Point of View
Well, as I said before on my previous post about college kids and drinking, Here we go again! Every year, the same old thing: college kids, partying, drinking and drugs. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, are they ever going to learn? I'm beginning to question it. How many years now have we been warning about excessive drinking, alcohol toxicity, and date rape drugs?
Colleges all over the country are now being more proactive in educating their students about the dangers of excessive drinking and, especially, about the risk of date rape drugs being slipped into women's drinks.
Yet, as the article above indicates, it's not only still going on, but getting worse. Twelve students in Roslyn, WA, found by police to be either unconscious or semi-conscious, following suspected date rape drug ingestion.
They even found a possible sexual assault going on, with a semi-conscious female, when they arrived. I do take exception to the later explanation, in some articles, that, oh, "the student was her boyfriend." He was released the next morning.
Sorry, but that don't get it. It doesn't matter whether he was her boyfriend or not. Someone who has been rendered semi-conscious by alcohol, or a date rape drug, cannot give consent. By law, if a person cannot give consent, it's considered sexual assault.
Will she file a complaint? Who knows, probably not. But it shouldn't matter. To take advantage of someone in this condition is not only despicable but illegal. I have re-printed part of a post I wrote several years back on date rape drugs.
I hope it's helpful and educational to those out there who still believe partying is just harmless fun. It's not. It's the kind of "fun" that can kill. Date rape drugs can cause respiratory depression and an overdose can kill.
And it's not just a matter of potential sexual assault. How many of those 50 kids drove to that party? Twelve were taken to the hospital. How many of the others got into their cars and drove off? They could still be under the influence hours later. Innocent people could have died because of college drinking and driving.
Drugs: 
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) and Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride) are among the most commonly used date rape drugs today. Date rape drugs are used to facilitate sexual assault. They render a victim physically helpless, unable to refuse sex, usually unconscious and subsequently unable to recall any of the sexual assault while drugged.
GHB:
- GHB comes in a clear, odorless liquid or pill form
- Has a salty taste to it
- Put in drinks to cover salty taste
- Has calming, euphoric effect
- Takes effect in about 15 minutes
- Renders victim unconscious
- Effects lasts for hours
- Effects: decreased inhibitions, deep unresponsive sleep, respiratory arrest, nausea, convulsions, amnesia, and loss of consciousness
- Street names: GHB, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Grievous Bodily Harm, GBH, Georgia Home Boy, Liquid G, Cherry Meth, Easy Lay
- When mixed with alcohol, can become fatal
- Recently made legal in the U.S.. to treat narcolepsy
Rohypnol:
- Has been used as a sleeping pill in other countries
- Comes in pill form
- Colorless, tasteless, odorless
- Newer pills will turn blue in liquids
- Takes effect in about 15 minutes to one hour
- Effects can last up to 8 hours
- Effects: visual disturbance, drowsiness, confusion, dizziness, motion difficulty, respiratory depression and amnesia.
- Street names: Roofies, Roach, R-2, Mind Erasers
- It is not legal in the U.S.
Ketamine:
- A fast acting anesthetic
- Has a euphoric effect
- Comes in a white powder or in liquid form
- Effects: distorts sense of balance, time judgement and ability to communicate, blurred vision, numbness, disorientation, trembling, hallucinations, amnesia, convulsions, respiratory depression and loss of consciousness.
- Dangerous in combination with alcohol
- Effects can last from 4-6 hours; many don't recover from effects for up to 48 hours
- Street names: Special K, Ket, K, Vitamin K, Kit Kat, Keller, Super C
- Is legal in the U.S. as an anesthetic for humans and animals
These drugs are easily slipped into food and drinks and are virtually undetectable. They cause the victim to become unconscious and to have no clear memory of anything that occurred during anywhere from an 8-12 hour period after ingestion. These drugs are readily absorbed by the body and disappears within 12 hours, so it is important to have a urine specimen taken soon after ingestion.
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