14 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Test strips detecting common date rape drugs like ketamine and GHB recently became legal in Kansas. They’re no longer classified as drug paraphernalia.
Date rape drugs aren’t just an issue in big cities. They’re a problem in rural areas as well.
One service provider working with people in northwest Kansas says the test strips are especially important for them.
Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in Hays provides services for sexual assault victims across 18 counties spanning 17,000 square miles in northwest Kansas.
Nearly half of the sexual assault cases they saw on college campuses in the past 12 months involved the use of a rape drug.
Because health care options are very spread out in rural Kansas, test strips sold online could be an easily-accessible resource, according to staff with the organization.
Options are also working on education.
“We have found that in rural communities, people are often less aware of safety and prevention,” said Jennifer Hecker, executive director of Options. “They’re less aware of predatory behaviors.”
To help with prevention, the organization is looking into ways to give out test strips across the area it serves. One plan is to pass them on to bars participating in the organization’s safe bar alliance. On the other hand, some experts are concerned that the test strips could be faulty.
“It’s important to know that maybe those test strips, since they’re not regulated, don’t trust them 100 percent,” said Amanda Meyers, the executive director of the Wichita Family Crisis Center.
Checking ratings on strips and researching the companies that make them could help with authenticating products, according to Meyers.
The Wichita Family Crisis Center is working with sister organizations to figure out which strips are trustworthy and how to distribute them.
In the meantime, using strips can be beneficial, but it’s not a good idea to rely on them alone, according to the organization.