KO Drops: What to do if you suspect it

New allegations against Rammstein lead singer Till Lindemann keep popping up. Women claim on social networks that they were drugged with knockout drops or alcohol at the band’s concerts. The singer’s lawyer rejected the allegations as “without exception untrue”.

It has not yet been proven whether knockout drops were involved at all. Nevertheless, the debate draws attention to an important issue: people are becoming victims of the narcotic again and again. How to recognize this – and what to do if you suspect something.

What are knockout drops?

“Ko-Drops or knockout drugs is a collective term for various psychoactive substances,” says the “ko-ev.de” portal. These include, for example:

• psychotropic drugs and
• Narcotics.

But alcohol and other drugs could also be used specifically as co-agents, it is said. “They are often administered in order to subsequently commit further crimes (often sex crimes). They are odorless, colorless and tastelesswhen mixed into drinks or food.”

In clubs, the drugs are also taken voluntarily in lower doses as party drugs. Perpetrators secretly pour the substances into their victims’ drinks to stun or render them defenseless. Crime scenes are mostly pubs, bars and clubs.

How do knockout drops become noticeable?

Depending on the type, the drops work at different speeds and for different periods of time. “They change perception,” writes the information portal of the City of Vienna:

• Depending on the dosage, they can restrict mobility and action
• They can initially have a euphoric effect and, in higher doses, can eventually lead to a deep, coma-like sleep through to unconsciousness and death.

The signs of poisoning are also different according to the portal:

• Sudden dizziness and nausea
• perceptual difficulties
• clouding of consciousness, twilight state
• lack of will
• Limited mobility to the point of being motionless
• Memory gaps to the point of amnesia
• euphoria (initially)

What to do if you suspect knockout drops?

If you are concerned that you or someone close to you has been given knockout drops, you should act quickly. According to the portal, this applies in particular if you fear that you have become a victim of sexualized violence.

The portal advises, as soon as possible:

• a hospital near you or
• directly to forensic medicine

visit.

The “ProBeweis” network, which works with many partner clinics, also offers support in gathering evidence and examining victims of sexualised violence.

important phone number

In general, you can contact the following places in an emergency:

• Police: 110
• Fire brigade/rescue service: 112
• Helpline “Violence against women”: 0800 0116016
• Sexual Abuse Helpline: 0800 2255530