[Rape drugs: pharmalogical and analytical aspects].

Rape drugs or compounds used for chemical submission are current hot topics of numerous media based on a few well-documented identified cases. In the aim of considering the compounds potentially involved and subsequently the samples to collect and the toxicological analyses to perform, and according to the aggressor's viewpoint (victim submission and impunity of himself or herself), the characteristics of such compounds were drawn following the drug pharmacological properties. The compounds or therapeutic classes potentially used are numerous and diverse because the expected effects can be obtained by many neuropharmacological mechanisms or combinations of mechanisms. However, a few drugs (i.e. several benzodiazepines, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate) seem to be the ideal candidates owing to advantageous pharmacological properties (low blood concentrations, short elimination half-life) and practical ones (availability, galenic forms). It appears that the quality and precocity of biological specimen collection, the use of specific and sensitive analytical techniques, and the collaboration between the clinician and the toxicologist, are the essential keys for successful toxicological investigations when a case of chemical submission is suspected.