When a Drink Becomes a Weapon

There is something particularly disturbing about drink spiking, because it takes something ordinary, something as simple as accepting a drink, ordering a cocktail, sharing a night out with friends, and turns it into a potential violation of bodily autonomy.

You think you know what is in your glass. You don’t. And suddenly, the person who has control over what happens to your body is no longer you.

Drink spiking is the act of putting alcohol, medication, or another drug into someone’s drink without their knowledge or consent. It can be done for many reasons, including theft, violence, amusement, or sexual assault. Whatever the motive, it is an act of violation. The person whose drink has been tampered with did not consent to consuming that substance, and that distinction matters.

The word “roofies” is often used loosely today, which can create confusion. Originally, “roofies” referred specifically to Rohypnol, the street name for flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine. Rohypnol is a central nervous system depressant and can cause sedation, confusion, impaired coordination and memory loss. It became notorious because of its association with drug-facilitated sexual assault.

But “being roofied” is now shorthand for something broader: the suspected drugging of a person without their knowledge. The substance involved may not be Rohypnol at all.