Everyone’s dressed up, ready to make an impression. The first drink marks the beginning of the evening.

But strangely, it also can be the last memory before you wake into an unfamiliar world with an unfamiliar person.

Date rape -is a common term to describe events such as this.

A University woman recently told WSB-TV Atlanta on camera she was a victim of a “serial sexual predator” in July. The woman, 19, said an acquaintance she met at a downtown Athens bar gave her a Corona. She later woke up at his house and he was touching her, she said.

The woman said she believes he slipped a drug into her beverage.

There are more than 20 drugs used for sexual assault, according to the Journal of American College Health. Three common drugs are: GHB (gamma- hydroxybutyric acid), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) and Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride).

Though one in four college-aged women has been raped, the journal reported, police said Athens does not have many reported rapes – especially those involving date rape drugs. Athens-Clarke County Police Lt. Greg Paul said most people who say they were sexually assaulted take too long to report the incident.

“We need prompt reporting,” said Paul, who works in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. “We want them to report it as soon as possible.”

But, Paul said, the common date-rape drug is alcohol itself.

“When a woman consumes a high quantity of alcohol, she becomes more vulnerable to experiencing a problem,” said Erin English, the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs health educator at the University Health Center. She said people should not drink more than one drink per hour or three drinks per day.

When students decide to go out, they should trust in the buddy system, said Larry Gourdine, relationship and sexual violence prevention coordinator of the Office of Violence Prevention.

“They should go out together and leave together,” Gourdine said. “They should avoid accepting drinks from strangers and friends.”

Gourdine said students should have a plan to know who to call if left alone downtown or get separated accidently. If an assault does occur, he said, “first seek medical attention to start doing testing.”

Officials say students should be aware of and recognize common date rape drugs which can take effect in only a few minutes.

GHB
According to the National Women’s Health Information Center’s Web site, GHB can be liquid with no odor or color, white powder or a pill.

Side effects of the drug include dizziness, nausea, problems seeing, seizures, sweating, tremors, vomiting, coma and death. Victims experience anterograde amnesia, meaning they will not remember any events even if conscious, as documented by a research article in the Southern Medical Journal.

Symptoms appear within 15 minutes of ingestion. According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a urine specimen should be collected no more than 96 hours after the assault.

Rohypnol
The now banned drug, Rohypnol, once was marketed as a sedative and tranquilizer. It is odorless and tasteless, but has also been restructured to turn blue in clear beverages or hazy in colored beverages, according to the Southern Medical Journal.

Low doses can cause muscle relaxation along with sedative and hypnotic effects, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Web site. In higher doses, it can cause loss of muscle control and partial amnesia, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported. Other side effects include confusion, stomach and speech problems and sleepiness.

It is rapidly absorbed, taking 20 to 30 minutes to take effect, according to Canadian Medical Association Journal. Rohypnol can stay in the body for several hours and can be detected in urine up to 72 hours after ingestion, according to the National Women’s Health Information Center.

Ketamine
A tranquilizer used on animals, Ketamine produces effects that cause distorted perceptions of sight and sound, according to Office of National Drug Control Policy. It can be in liquid or powder form.

The hallucinations can last less than an hour, but judgment can be affected up to 24 hours after ingesting the drug.