Bundestag decides on tougher penalties for the use of knockout drops

FAQ Resolution in the Bundestag Tougher penalties for the use of knockout drops As of: November 6th, 2026 • 12:28 p.m

Perpetrators mix their victims with knockout drugs in order to specifically render them defenseless. The Bundestag has decided on harsher punishments for such acts. How can victims protect themselves - and what threatens the perpetrators now?

The Bundestag today voted to tighten penalties for the use of so-called knockout means. These are often used by perpetrators to drug their victims. Anyone who uses the substances for rape or robbery should now face at least five years in prison. Previously, the criminal law stipulated a minimum sentence of three years. The change in the law is a reaction to an earlier ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, according to which knockout drops are not considered “dangerous tools”.

The SPD member of the Bundestag Carmen Wegge said in parliament that anyone who secretly adds knockout drops to a person deprives them of the opportunity to defend themselves. This is “insidious and disgusting.” MPs from the governing coalition as well as the Greens and the Left also recalled the Pelicot case. In most cases, the operation is directed against women and is a “particularly perfidious act,” explained CDU MP Susanne Hierl.

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“K.o. drugs, which are also alternatively referred to as knockout drops, are substances/substance solutions that a perpetrator administers to an affected person without their consent in order to immobilize or cause a loss of will,” says a dark field study on violence by the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Up to 200 substances are possible, and not just as drops, according to a statement from the aid organization Weißer Ring. These are often the drugs GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) or GBL (gamma butyrolactone). GHB is subject to the Narcotics Act in Germany. GBL is a chemical substance that is used in a variety of ways as a solvent and cleaning agent. In the body, GBL converts into GHB and also develops its dangerous effects. In the party scene, GBL/GHB is also common for personal consumption.

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According to experts, most knockout drops start working quite quickly - often after just a few minutes. According to the White Ring, the effect can vary from person to person. Initial euphoria often turns into dizziness and nausea. Unconsciousness and memory loss could also occur. At high doses, breathing problems and even death are possible.

However, detecting knockout drops is not easy. Especially in bars or clubs where alcohol is consumed, it is often difficult for victims to determine whether the colorless and tasteless substances have been secretly added to a drink. Also because the effect can be similar to that of alcohol - memory gaps can also occur here, for example.

Stricter penalties for knockout drops: What the change in the law does tagesschau24, November 6th, 2026 • 10:00 a.m. How can you protect yourself? The Federal Office of the White Ring Victim Support Service provides concrete tips on how to behave. This includes not leaving open drinks unattended and, if in doubt, tipping them out, not accepting open drinks or food from strangers and looking after each other. If you suspect anything, you should call 112 immediately.

Be careful with bracelets or straws, which change color when they come into contact with certain substances and are intended to protect against knockout agents. They can usually only detect a certain substance - but a variety of substances can be used as knockout drops. The White Ring also advises that if you feel unwell or dizzy, ask friends or staff for help and not stay alone.

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If you have been given knockout drops, you should - if possible - go to an emergency room immediately. There is also an antidote there, but it requires an accurate diagnosis. However, many active ingredients can only be detected for a short time - in the blood for around six hours and in the urine for around twelve hours.

Victims, in most cases women, should also go to the police to report the crime. There are contact points throughout Germany that offer confidential preservation of evidence. There is help there if victims are unsure whether they want to file a report after an act of violence. Because of the short period of detectability, it is important to act quickly, advises the White Ring.

There are now so-called awareness teams at many larger events that you can approach. They are responsible for caring for victims of assault. The White Ring also offers a victim hotline that can be reached at 116 006.

The secret use of knockout drops in a robbery or sexual offense can already be taken into account to make the punishment more severe under current law. However, it is currently not automatically a particularly serious form of sexual assault or robbery, which is why there is only a minimum sentence of three years.

In the future, the new law stipulates a minimum sentence of five years if knockout drops are used in rape or robbery. According to Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD), this is intended to take into account the particular danger that women in particular face.

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Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig wants the law to serve as a stronger deterrent for potential perpetrators. In the run-up to the debate, the SPD politician spoke of a “strong stop sign”. Deterrence alone never helps, the Justice Minister continued. "We need education, we need better prevention - everything that goes with it."

Green MP Linda Heitmann said in the Bundestag that the law could only be the start of a broad debate. Politics is currently lagging behind social development.

From the perspective of the aid organization “No Victim,” harsher punishments are little more than symbolic politics. Most perpetrators are not even convicted, said the non-profit association's CEO, Nina Fuchs, on WDR 5. "If you look into the topic, you know that there are almost no convictions. And higher penalties only help a little with convictions," Fuchs points out.

According to her, most cases are never reported - perhaps because of embarrassment or because of the difficulty of providing evidence. As a victim supporter, she advocates training police and judicial staff in “confidential forensics” so that they recognize the urgency of the problem.

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Against an overall downward trend in crime in Germany, the number of registered rapes rose sharply last year. According to statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office, there were almost 14,500 cases of rape, sexual assault and particularly serious sexual assaults in 2025. That was 8.5 percent more than in the previous year.

There are no nationwide police statistics on the use of substances that are intended to render the victim defenseless before a sexual assault. In most cases it is suspected that the drops were secretly administered in a bar or club. But there are also cases in which rape victims were given knockout drops in their own homes.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | News | 11/06/2026 | 10 O `clock