Calif. Cities Ban Emerging "Date-Rape" Drug August 1, 2000
News Summary
Several California cities and towns along the Mexico border are taking matters into their own hands and banning the use of the anti-anxiety drug Klonopin, APB News reported July 26.Chula Vista, a suburb in San Diego, is the latest town to make use of the drug illegal without a prescription. "Besides your typical marijuana and alcohol, this is the third most commonly seen drug in schools," said Norene Andersen, a police officer in Chula Vista.
The local regulations are being put in place to make up for a loophole in state law that allows residents to possess it. A measure to close the loophole failed this year.
Local authorities said action was needed to help reduce recreational use of the drug. They also hope the ban would enable them to prosecute rapists, who officials say use Klonopin and similar drugs are used to subdue potential victims. "The real reason you're going to find them in date rape is because they're pretty potent," said Frank Barnhart of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department crime lab. "You can take a small number of them and grind them up, pop them into a capsule and put them into somebody's drink. In combination with the alcohol, the victim will lose consciousness or at least lose control of their inhibitions."
Klonopin costs $1 a pill in the United States. But residents in San Diego can easily cross the border into Mexico and purchase the drug for just 25 cents each.
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