Date Rape Drugs Detection
Discussion
So you may have seen over the last few days the news of these incredible minds:
They are not the next Boyzone.
These four gentlemen, at college in North Carolina have created a clear nail varnish which, when dry, can be dipped in any liquid and test for the presence of any drugs which are used in "date rape" crimes. The nail varnish changes colour if a drug is detected. Meaning that anyone can quickly stir their drink with their finger and check if the drink as been spiked. Actual genius in my opinion.
Strangely the reception has been mixed as this BBC article eloquently explains: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-28958365
Tweets like:
"Rape prevention nail polish sounds like a great idea but I’m not sure how you’re going to get men to wear it?" from well know womens issue activist Andrea Grimes (@andreagrimes) along with thousand of others.
Now, I know this a majority male forum but I also know of a fair few female petrol heads too and bearing in mind I think it's safe to say that everybody who isn't a rapist is an "anti-rape advocate". I struggle to fathom the logic of the hundreds of people who do not see this a positive thing. Anything that can prevent crime and not impact on quality of life, in my opinion in a positive thing which should be praised.
Am I missing something?
They are not the next Boyzone.
These four gentlemen, at college in North Carolina have created a clear nail varnish which, when dry, can be dipped in any liquid and test for the presence of any drugs which are used in "date rape" crimes. The nail varnish changes colour if a drug is detected. Meaning that anyone can quickly stir their drink with their finger and check if the drink as been spiked. Actual genius in my opinion.
Strangely the reception has been mixed as this BBC article eloquently explains: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-28958365
Tweets like:
"Rape prevention nail polish sounds like a great idea but I’m not sure how you’re going to get men to wear it?" from well know womens issue activist Andrea Grimes (@andreagrimes) along with thousand of others.
Now, I know this a majority male forum but I also know of a fair few female petrol heads too and bearing in mind I think it's safe to say that everybody who isn't a rapist is an "anti-rape advocate". I struggle to fathom the logic of the hundreds of people who do not see this a positive thing. Anything that can prevent crime and not impact on quality of life, in my opinion in a positive thing which should be praised.
Am I missing something?
TheEnd said:
One big thing is date rate drugs are massively rare, and girls getting drunk is far more common, and then blaming something else for the fact they kept falling over and being sick.
Here in Hong Kong the only times these drugs are heard of are when male (generally western) tourists get drugged by shady prostitutes and wake up the next morning with an emptied ATM. Even then it's rare.TheEnd said:
One big thing is date rate drugs are massively rare, and girls getting drunk is far more common, and then blaming something else for the fact they kept falling over and being sick.
I understand your point but I can also see why people who have been victims of such a horrible crime will get frustrated with people taking that stance. Especially if they were genuinely date raped. A lot of the "twitterverse" seem to allude to the fact that the product "shouldn't" be needed - men shouldn't rape. We shouldn't need car alarms but there are bad people in the world (not that those two crimes are comparable). The comments that really confuse me are the ones that imply the product is not worth pursuing and direct attention to separate issues, when in reality we should be celebrating the ingenuity of the creators in helping solve a problem we all agree exists. I think it's a great invention.
V1DL3R said:
A lot of the "twitterverse" seem to allude to the fact that the product "shouldn't" be needed - men shouldn't rape. We shouldn't need car alarms but there are bad people in the world (not that those two crimes are comparable).
Exactly. There shouldn't be rape, murder, child abuse, torture, domestic violence (really, any violence), robbery, burglary, car theft, etc. etc. - these things do exist and our daily lives involve some aspect of keeping ourselves and our families and friends safe from them.hairykrishna said:
I sort of see their point. There's no way that some kind of fancy nail varnish possibly covers the wide spectrum of potential date rape drugs. Not to mention the fact that I bet the most common date rape drug is booze itself.
Exactly. Slip a couple of extra shots of vodka into a cocktail and people could get uncontrollably drunk very quickly. I find it hard to believe a simple nail varnish could detect all possible substances that could be used to date rape someone.
VolvoT5 said:
Exactly. Slip a couple of extra shots of vodka into a cocktail and people could get uncontrollably drunk very quickly.
I find it hard to believe a simple nail varnish could detect all possible substances that could be used to date rape someone.
From what I have read, it covers the main toxins used. From my very limited understanding there a not all that many colourless, tasteless and odourless liquids which can temporarily incapacitate but that doesn't mean there won't be more in the future. I find it hard to believe a simple nail varnish could detect all possible substances that could be used to date rape someone.
I don't think the product is aimed or even alludes to stop alcohol related incidents and I think it's fairly easy to detect via taste when someone drops a shot in your drink. I do think that's a different can a worms and not really the focus of the product.
The product may only be targeted to help empowerment a person to fight against a smaller percentage of cases but I'm still not sure the reaction from activists is constructive to thier cause and indeed fair to the people they represent. It just seems a bit weird, here is a product which can empower someone to quickly, cheaply and discreetly potentially avoid a rape situation to me that can only be a good thing and praised.
VolvoT5 said:
I find it hard to believe a simple nail varnish could detect all possible substances that could be used to date rape someone.
Due to the confusion of who people are when chatting on Internet forums I'd like to clarify: do you have a chemistry-related degree, or is it purely something you find hard to believe?V1DL3R said:
TheEnd said:
One big thing is date rate drugs are massively rare, and girls getting drunk is far more common, and then blaming something else for the fact they kept falling over and being sick.
I understand your point but I can also see why people who have been victims of such a horrible crime will get frustrated with people taking that stance. Especially if they were genuinely date raped. A lot of the "twitterverse" seem to allude to the fact that the product "shouldn't" be needed - men shouldn't rape. We shouldn't need car alarms but there are bad people in the world (not that those two crimes are comparable). The comments that really confuse me are the ones that imply the product is not worth pursuing and direct attention to separate issues, when in reality we should be celebrating the ingenuity of the creators in helping solve a problem we all agree exists. b
ks to this "protect yourself" idea - are girls allowed to carry guns then? To murder anyone they feel dangerous? No? Then they're not allowed to protect themselves properly, and in turn it is OUR fault if they are not protected. We've taken freedoms away in the name of safety, it is our duty to compensate for that.xRIEx said:
Due to the confusion of who people are when chatting on Internet forums I'd like to clarify: do you have a chemistry-related degree, or is it purely something you find hard to believe?
I don't have a degree in chemistry but am skeptical it'll catch everything. This is just from watching airport/police shows on TV were each drug needs a discrete test as they tend to be chemically different. I can see this working for some related family of drugs (e.g. opiods), but a chemical that can detect a spectrum of dissimilar drugs? I'm also not an expert on date rape drugs so they could all be related for what I know..Similar attitudes to this poster;
There is a political idea that women should not have to be careful how much they drink (or test their drinks for drugs) and that suggesting that they do amounts to victim blaming. And there is a pragmatic idea that, no, you should not have to worry about this, it's disgusting that you do, the problem of some men being rapists needs to be addressed, but in the meantime you have to take the world as you find it and the advice is consistent with that.
There is a political idea that women should not have to be careful how much they drink (or test their drinks for drugs) and that suggesting that they do amounts to victim blaming. And there is a pragmatic idea that, no, you should not have to worry about this, it's disgusting that you do, the problem of some men being rapists needs to be addressed, but in the meantime you have to take the world as you find it and the advice is consistent with that.
scorp said:
xRIEx said:
Due to the confusion of who people are when chatting on Internet forums I'd like to clarify: do you have a chemistry-related degree, or is it purely something you find hard to believe?
I don't have a degree in chemistry but am skeptical it'll catch everything. This is just from watching airport/police shows on TV were each drug needs a discrete test as they tend to be chemically different. I can see this working for some related family of drugs (e.g. opiods), but a chemical that can detect a spectrum of dissimilar drugs? I'm also not an expert on date rape drugs so they could all be related for what I know..It's a step forward, so if it catches 60% or 35% then it's an improvement on nail varnish that catches 0%.
What I dislike about this product most is that it is one step away from victim blaming again....... You were date raped you say? Did you check your drink for drugs first? You must know there is a test kit freely available now, and I see you were dressed rather provocatively too.... bet you lead him on didn't you? Well you got what you deserved then.
Really interesting debate all. It's wonderful hearing everyones opinions.
Again all, that's for contributing. Really interesting stuff.
otolith said:
Similar attitudes to this poster;
Thanks for sharing that creative it's really interesting and as an AD man who has worked on similar campaigns for knifecrime I can see what they were trying to achieve however not very tactfully I admit. The stat itself is interesting, 1in3 involved alcohol is how I read that. That suggests that 2in3 were drug or abuse (or other) related. This is interesting because they can't make that sort of claim without some substantiation however I would suggest from my own pretence and the other comments on here that most people think that alcohol is the most common factor. VolvoT5 said:
What I dislike about this product most is that it is one step away from victim blaming again....... You were date raped you say? Did you check your drink for drugs first? You must know there is a test kit freely available now, and I see you were dressed rather provocatively too.... bet you lead him on didn't you? Well you got what you deserved then.
It's an interesting point and understandable, however personally I think it is a bit of a presumptuous step. In the interest of healthy debate, I don't think that any law enforcement office would work like that in reality. I think this idea of victim blame comes around because maybe, as a courtroom, it can be hard to see the wood from the trees on some cases and the nature of the setting and situation means it often ends on a their word against mine situation. This is wrong and something a nail varnish can not even come close to solving. However if you are drugged that can be tested retrospectively. You don't carry around rohypnol for any other reason other than intent, but the difficultly is proving that person spiked the drink. People are let down in other areas of protection, for example CCTV in night clubs. With any crime which is so circumstantial and difficult to prove anything that can be developed to avoid even 1 incident is better that probably anything I would ever do with my life. it's a tough one I admit.Again all, that's for contributing. Really interesting stuff.
TheEnd said:
One big thing is date rate drugs are massively rare, and girls getting drunk is far more common, and then blaming something else for the fact they kept falling over and being sick.
very rare that the spiked drink is a dirnk under drink number 5 of the evening ... the most common 'spiking agent' is the common cold or somesuch -often they are brewing a cold or somesuch which reduces their usual tolerances ...
Having been called out to rescue a collapsed friend of the wife when she was drugged in an Edinburgh bar, I'd say this is a very good thing. That was a horrible, horrible night. The only saving grace being my wife who refused the glass of wine from the very 'camp' acting 'nice blokes' at the bar early one evening, despite the barman delivering it. Cue me rushing to the bar to find an upset tipsy wife and a friend utterly 'cabbaged' on the floor, followed by hours in a police station trying to gt her to provide a sample.
Hopefully one day my wife will say: 'hey, remember those guys I told you about? There's one of them, over there'.
Hopefully one day my wife will say: 'hey, remember those guys I told you about? There's one of them, over there'.
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