Date Rape Drug-Detecting Cups at Penn State Parties?
Posted in General on January 12, 2015
A Boston company claims to have made a material that changes color when it comes into contact with date rape drugs. The creator is hoping to use the material to create cups, stirrers, and straws that would alert a drinker that someone had slipped a date rape drug into a cocktail.
The number of sexual assaults that occur due to date rape drugs is difficult to determine because date rape drugs are processed by the body and removed relatively quickly. While some drugs, like marijuana, remain in one’s system for a longer period of time, evidence of date rape drugs is generally gone within hours.
If this material is used to make drink cups, I believe that Penn State fraternities and other party hosts would be wise to purchase and use such cups. Maybe the creator of the material could sign a contract with Solo and produce the infamous red Solo cup that would turn white if it contained a date rape drug.
Penn State Fraternities Use Date Rape Drug Detecting Cups As a Deterrent
As a father of identical twin daughters, I am very concerned about them going to college, attending a party, and being taken advantage of after being slipped a date rape drug. While I will tell my girls to avoid going to parties and instead spend their free time at the church or library, I fear that they will not always do what I recommend. Knowing that they are unlikely to listen to me completely, I would feel more comfortable if they attended parties that used date rape drug detecting cups. I would also buy them cases of the cups so that they could take their own cup with them to any party.
If fraternities at Penn State used date rape drug detecting cups at parties, it may deter some people from attempting to put the drugs in someone’s drink. Would this method be full proof? Absolutely not. However, many people have thought twice and not urinated in a pool because they feared the myth that some pools contain a chemical that changes color when coming into contact with urine. If these cups cause even a few people to forgo using a date rape drug, it is a positive thing.
Cups Help Prove Whether Date Rape Drug Was Used
As a State College criminal defense attorney, I represent men that have been with some sort of sexual assault in which the victim claims that she either passed out or was too intoxicated to consent to having sexual contact with my client. In such a role, my client tells me that the girl was awake and, not only aware of her surroundings, but she actively participated in the sexual activity. In many such situations, the victim claims that she didn’t consume very much alcohol and thereby claims that someone slipped a date rape drug into her alcoholic beverage. Again, given the relative speed in which the alcohol and date rape drug are expelled from one’s system, the victim’s blood test often does not reflect what was in her system when the alleged assault occurred. In this scenario, there simply is no way to prove or disprove whether or not the alleged victim had been slipped a date rape drug.
Had my client attended a party in which the date rape drug detecting cups had been used, I could at least question the victim about her consumption of alcohol from the cups and try to show the jury that she had not been slipped a drug. Clearly, this would not be definitive proof of that issue, but it is at least circumstantial evidence that the victim was not intoxicated to the extent that she was incapable of consenting.
If you or someone you know has been charged with sexual assault, date rape, or any other criminal offense, contact State College criminal defense attorney Jason S. Dunkle at (814) 954-7622 for a free consultation.