Drugs involved in drug-facilitated crimes--part II: Drugs of abuse, prescription and over-the-counter medications. A review.

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of reports of drug-facilitated crimes. Usually, individuals report that they were robbed or assaulted while incapacitated by drugs. Most often, these cases have involved drugs that have the ability to produce an effect that leaves the victim in a semiconscious or unconscious state. It is reasonable to assume that the purpose of drug-induced incapacitation is probably largely unchanged with time. This covers the full range of property offences (particularly theft) and crimes against the person (often sexual assault). What have changed are the drugs themselves: the number; type; their accessibility; effects and detection. This review describes the different aspects related to the involvement and use of drugs of abuse, as well as prescription and over-the counter medications in drug-facilitated crimes, which may help people working in this field to expand their knowledge in order to better understand the nature of these crimes or offences.