Germany plans to treat the use of date rape drugs like the use of weapons in prosecutions as part of measures to ensure justice for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
“We classify date rape drugs, which are increasingly used as a widespread tool in crimes, as weapons. This creates the basis for significantly stricter prosecutions,” Alexander Dobrindt, the interior minister, said on Friday. “We are committed to clear consequences and consistent enforcement. Women should feel safe and be able to move freely everywhere.”
Nearly 54,000 women and girls were the victims of sexual offences in Germany in 2024 – an increase of 2.1% on the previous year – of which nearly 36% were victims of rape and sexual assault.
I think the primary distinction is that a weapon in a criminal context is typically something that is used to threaten/coerce someone, or to enable you to cause (more/more severe) physical damage.
Date rape aren’t used to threaten/coerce people, and whilst they can cause harm, it is generally not the intended goal when someone uses them.
So whilst I agree that classifying date rape drugs as weapons is a good move, there definitely are relevant distinctions as to why drugs are typically not considered weapons.
The thing about “date rape drugs” is that plenty, I would say most of, their users are not using them for SA. GHB for example, is/was a pretty common party drug, especially in the gay scene. “Roofies” or Flunitrazepam, are one of the rarest drugs going these days, prescription or illicit. Xannax fits that bill these days. So depending on how the legislation is written, if these drugs are only classified as weapons in assault cases, I suppose that’s good. But I don’t agree with the further criminalization of drugs in general.
Also the most common date rape drug bar none is Alcohol
You make a good point that there aren’t more classifications, the only other one I can think of is state dependent, and that’s vehicular manslaughter.