MILWAUKEE — Many medical professionals and community advocates are pushing for more date rape drug awareness, as many of the drugs are getting more advanced and harder to trace.

What You Need To Know

  • Dr. Ryan Feldman, a toxicologist and emergency medicine pharmacist at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, said the drug market has gotten "incredibly creative"
  • That has made it increasingly difficult to track date rape drugs 

  • This includes medications without a smell or taste that can be used to impair others

  • Many of date rape crimes are never prosecuted due to insufficient evidence, which can make it harder for survivors to ever get closure

Dr. Ryan Feldman, a toxicologist and emergency medicine pharmacist at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, said he’s constantly researching drugs and where they come from.

“There’s already a whole slew of drugs that can be accessed easily via the dark web, or the black market,” said Dr. Feldman. “The drug market has already gotten incredibly creative. It’s just what people want to get their hands on.”

That includes medications without a smell or taste that can impair others.

“We don’t always know what drug someone may have taken or been given,” said Dr. Feldman. “But we know how drugs work in the body, and we can see the clinical effects in the patient.”

That’s why many drugs used in date rape drug crimes have gotten increasingly difficult to track.

“Some of them are very rapid acting and they very rapidly leave your system, so it creates problems in actually trying to detect the drug, especially with limited laboratory testing that is sometimes available in hospitals,” Dr. Feldman said. “Plus, the number one agent that is frequently co-ingested with these drugs is alcohol, so people can have clinical effects not only from the drug that may have been used to facilitate the assault, but also from the alcohol.”

Organizations that help date rape survivors like The Women’s Center in Waukesha are educated on the nuances and advancements of the drugs used.

Krystal Chase, who works at The Women’s Center, said her organization’s primary role is providing support and guidance.

“If someone has expressed that, or they have a feeling that there was a date rape drug used, we are going to talk about the health ramifications or health options that they can access,” said Chase.

Many of the date rape crimes are never prosecuted because of insufficient evidence, which can make it harder for survivors to ever get closure.

“They may not remember what has happened to them, but their body is remembering,” said Chase. “Their body is responding, so we are addressing those issues. To help with those triggers and trauma that your body has experienced.”

Chase and Dr. Feldman want to spread awareness. They urge victims of date rape drug crimes to get medical treatment as soon as possible.

“We, at our emergency department here, have specialized nurses that can take care of you,” said Dr. Feldman. “You just had, not only a crime, but now, a health care issue occurs. So, you should absolutely reach out to law enforcement and be evaluated.”