Hospitals reported an alarming increase in the number of women showing up at emergency rooms after "date-rape" druggings.

A report on the 2009 data, which was just released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, shows a number of different substances found in the systems of those seeking help at ERs for intentional poisoning, including prescription drugs, alcohol, illegal narcotics, and “date rape” drugs such as Rohypnol. Alcohol was a factor in 60 percent of the intentional poisonings, and was combined with other drugs in about half of them.

In the report, researchers define intentional poisoning as “a direct attempt to hurt someone or an attempt to render that person defenseless against other types of crime.”
Cases of intentional poisoning made up a small percentage of the 4.6 million drug-related ER visits in 2009. But researchers think cases of intentional poisoning are probably undercounted, as many victims might not seek medical attention and drugs may leave the system too quickly to be detected.

About a quarter of those who were found to have been intentionally poisoned in 2009 were under 21, and most were women. The SAMHSA researchers estimate that about 3 million American women have been victims of drug-related rape. They advise women, young women in particular, to be watchful, and to decline drinks offered by men they don’t know.