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Drugged with GHB, beaten and robbed

The recent mugging of a Montreal couple who were drugged with GHB at a concert hall and then beaten and robbed has brought "rape drugs" into the public eye once again.

Since 1999, seizures of GHB, a rape drug, have increased by 400% in Canada. This has prompted concerns and questions. What are rape drugs? What are the consequences or sentences for people who make use of these drugs? In the text that follows, Éducaloi sheds some light on this subject.

What is a rape drug?

A rape drug is a drug which, taken in a high dose, causes a loss of consciousness in the drugged person, followed by a loss of memory. The drugged person becomes an easy target for a sexual assault, which is where the name rape drug comes from. As demonstrated by the example of the Montreal couple, they may also become easy targets for assault, theft, and fraud.

Because they are odourless and colourless, rape drugs can easily be given to someone without their knowledge. For example, they can be slipped into a glass of alcohol. The most commonly known rape drugs are GHB, ketamine, and Rohypnol.

Is it illegal to possess rape drugs?

Yes. These are illegal drugs! Simple possession of GHB or Rohypnol is a criminal offence in Canada. A person who is found guilty of this offence can face three years of imprisonment.

Ketamine is a drug used by veterinarians and, more rarely, doctors, and only an authorized doctor or veterinarian is allowed to possess it. A person convicted of illegally possessing ketamine can face seven years of imprisonment.

The difference between these possible jail sentences is explained by the fact that these are considered to be different kinds of drugs. Ketamine is classified in the same category of drugs as cocaine and heroin, whereas GHB and Rohypnol are classified in the same category of drugs as amphetamines and magic mushrooms.

Is it illegal to have sexual relations with someone who is unknowingly under the effect of a rape drug?

Yes. This would be a sexual assault. Even if a person does not resist the assault or is not conscious of the assault, a person who is under the effects of a rape drug administered to them without their knowledge does not have the capacity to consent to sexual activity.

To give valid consent to sexual activity, a person must be sufficiently conscious. A person who is extremely drunk, unconscious, in a coma, or under the effects of a rape drug does not have sufficient consciousness in order to be able to give their consent. In other words, without the consent of all of the people involved, sexual contact becomes sexual assault.

Is it a criminal offence just to drug someone with a rape drug?

Yes. Independent of anything else done to the drugged person (mugging, assault, kidnapping, theft), the simple fact of drugging them with a rape drug without their knowledge is a criminal offence.

The person who drugs the other person without their knowledge can be accused of:

• Administering a noxious thing (dangerous substance) to someone with the intention of aggrieving or annoying that person;
  
• Administering a drug to someone with the intention of facilitating another criminal offence.

A person found guilty of the first offence may face a prison term of 2 years. A person found guilty of the second offence may face life imprisonment.

For more information on the subject, please read our Infosheets on:
Sexual assault  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/offenders_and_accused_persons/12/).
Offences related to certain drugs   (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/offenders_and_accused_persons/288/).