“Knockout drops” is a collective term for various psychoactive substances. They include (prescription) psychotropic drugs, narcotics such as ketamine, gamma-hydroxibutyric acid (GHB, also called liquid ecstasy) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL, which causes the same effects as GHB in the body). Alcohol and various other drugs can also be used to incapacitate a victim. They are often administered so that further crimes (usually sexual offences) can be committed. They are odourless, colourless and tasteless when mixed in drinks or food.

What should you do if you suspect knockout drops have been used?

Quick action is needed if you believe that you or a friend of yours have been given knockout drops and you or your friend are in a critical condition or have been the victim of sexualised violence. It is best to get to the nearest hospital, ideally with someone you trust.
It is important not to shower, otherwise you may wash away traces of the chemical or DNA. Any objects or items of clothing that you suspect may retain traces should be placed in a paper bag and taken with you to be forensically examined.

The ProBeweis network, which works with many partner hospitals, offers support in examining victims of sexualised violence and in taking evidence. Victims of violence can call the ProBeweis network on +49 511 532-4599.

You can also contact your local women’s counselling centre, such as the Munich Women’s Emergency Helpline. A representative will then accompany you to the police.

In an emergency you should contact the police (110 in Germany). (Be aware of the principle of mandatory prosecution which dictates that the authorities are obliged to investigate if they are made aware of a criminal offence, and proceedings can no longer be stopped by the person concerned.)

Additional emergency phone numbers:

Fire/rescue: 112
“Gewalt gegen Frauen” (Violence against women) helpline: 0800 0116016
“Sexueller Missbrauch” (Sexual abuse) helpline: 0800 2255530

The unwanted administration of knockout drops remains a serious problem. A very high number of unreported cases is to be expected, particularly with regard to sexual offences.

Effect

The effects of knockout drops vary widely depending on the physical condition of the victim, the time since the last meal, alcohol consumption, medication and use of drugs. Depending on the dosage, the effects range from relaxation and sexual disinhibition to deep unconsciousness, which can be life-threatening.

Initially, the substances can produce a sense of euphoria and loss of inhibition. In some cases, the victim may engage in excessive flirting or talk incessantly to the people around them. For a while they may talk and move normally. To outsiders, nothing would strike them as particularly remarkable. At worst, the victim would appear a little drunk or lethargic.

But well before becoming unconscious the victim will have virtually no free will of their own and will be easily manipulated. Later, they will have no recollection of this state of semi-wakefulness.

This explains why perpetrators can use knockout drops in public: they have enough time to make contact with the victim and offer assistance so they can take the victim outside and then somewhere else, making them easy prey for the perpetrator.

Sudden fatigue may set in if the dosage is high enough. The victim may fall into a deep sleep or even become comatose, and then come round only several hours later. It is also possible for the victim to lose all mobility but still be mentally alert and aware of everything that is happening. In combination with alcohol, the effects may be even worse, sometimes with dangerous consequences. The victim may not only lose consciousness but also go into respiratory arrest.

Knockout drops also seriously affect the memory, leading to memory gaps that can stretch back to a time before the drops were administered. This loss of memory usually occurs very suddenly. In some cases, loss of memory is preceded by a feeling of wooziness. Victims may feel completely disorientated in the days that follow, and may find it difficult to think clearly. Unrelated recollections that seem totally illogical may also be possible symptoms. Waking up somewhere and not knowing how you got there also suggests you could have been given knockout drops. Alcohol is often also involved, making it difficult for victims to attribute loss of memory to the knockout drops themselves.

The effects usually kick in after 10 to 30 minutes and may last for several hours.

Drinks are spiked with knockout drops in both public and private situations, such as at private parties and in bars, clubs and discotheques. Perpetrators are usually strangers but there have also been many cases where people known to the victim have exploited a certain degree of familiarity.

The current situation

Extensive research by BuzzFeed News Germany in the autumn of 2019 on the subject of knockout drops revealed the following:“Some authorities record the number of cases and the number of perpetrators. Others record millilitres, grams or the number of test tubes. Still others count how many samples tested positive at forensic labs. There is no common denominator so it is impossible to make comparisons. There are no uniform statistics and no clarity about the size of the problem – and therefore no proper awareness of the problem.” BuzzFeed News asked the Interior Ministries of the various German states for statistics about crimes involving knockout drops. The answers were frustrating in the extreme. There are no meaningful statistics. The answer from Bavaria, for example, was thathere are other authorities that do collect statistics but do so completely inconsistently.” Women’s counselling centres across Germany see the situation very differently, however, and point out that a large number of incidents go unreported and/or undetected. The last comprehensive study was carried out in 2007 by the bff (Federal Association of Women’s Counselling Centres and Emergency Helplines in Germany) with the following results: “Although forensic examinations were carried out in only one in nine cases that the association studied, substances that fall in the category of knockout drops were detected in almost half of all those cases.” “

In November 2016 the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote this about GBL: “In a Europe-wide study in 2014, GBL was the fourth most frequent cause of emergencies involving poisoning. Leading toxicologists such as Professor Florian Eyer of the University Hospital in Munich assume that the ‘number of cases is massively underreported’. […] According to an EU study, it is therefore the second most frequently used rape drug (after alcohol). There are hardly any reliable case numbers here either – by the time victims have been seen by forensic doctors it is almost always too late to collect evidence. So the fluid, which should not exist in the first place, slips quietly out of the statistics. “

Since January 2024, a pilot project looking into knockout drops has been running at the Outpatient Clinic for Victims of Violence at the University Hospital of Ulm. The purpose is to increase testing for knockout drops to give a better overview of the true extent of the problem. The project is being funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs for a limited period of one year. [Source]

Confidential securing of evidence

As part of the measles vaccination law of 10 February 2020, entitlement to health care for legally insured persons was extended to the services of forensic labs for securing evidence in accordance with Section 27 Para. 1 Sentence 6 SGB V. The subsequent Section 132k SGB V creates the organisational requirements for confidential forensics: At the request of the respective state, the health insurance companies or their regional associations shall jointly and uniformly conclude contracts with the state as well as with a sufficient number of suitable institutions or doctors for the provision of services in accordance with Section 27 Para. 1 Sentence 6. In particular, the contracts must specify the type and scope of the services, the conditions for performance, billing and remuneration, and the form and content of the accounting process. The services are to be billed directly with the health insurance companies; remuneration can take the form of a lump sum. The accounting process must be designed to ensure the anonymity of the insured person. If a contract is not concluded in whole or in part within six months of the submission of the application by the state, Section 132i Sentences 3 to 5 shall apply accordingly with the provision that objections and appeals against the decision of the arbitrator shall have no postponing effect. “

n July 2020, the Bavarian State Ministry of Health provided the following information:“The states are currently working together to implement the framework conditions of the process according to Section 132k SGB V as uniformly as possible across all of Germany. On this sensitive issue, Bavaria and other states are particularly anxious for uniform minimum standards to be agreed for implementing the new legal regulations in the interests of victims of sexual violence. “

The present situation can best be described as a patchwork, but there are now some services in place. Here are a few examples across Germany:

Frankfurt: https://frauen-ev.de/ass-anonyme-spurensicherung/

Ulm: https://www.uniklinik-ulm.de/rechtsmedizin/gewaltopferambulanz.html

NRW: https://www.opferschutzportal.nrw/index.php/themen-von-z/anonyme-spurensicherung-ass

Heidelberg: https://www.opferschutzportal.nrw/index.php/themen-von-z/anonyme-spurensicherung-ass

SH: https://www.vertrauliche-spurensicherung-sh.de/

Munich: https://frauennotruf-muenchen.de/erste-hilfe-informationen-fuer-betroffene/

Terre des Femmes has created an excellent detailed overview.