Bundestag is planning tougher penalties for the use of knockout drops

Five-year minimum sentence What does the new law against knockout drops bring? As of: November 6, 2026 • 6:17 a.m

Time and again, women in particular are drugged with knockout drops and experience sexual violence. The Bundestag wants to decide on harsher penalties today. From the opposition's perspective, however, the law misses the core of the problem.

They are colorless, odorless and tasteless and that is precisely what makes them so dangerous. So-called knockout drops are often used in cases of sexual assault or robbery. They are often dropped unnoticed into a victim's drink.

The drops cause those affected to lose control of their body and the ability to defend themselves. They suffer from impaired consciousness and even loss of consciousness and are often left traumatized.

The Bundestag wants to pass a new law today that provides for harsher penalties for such an offense. In the future, knockout drops will be legally on the same level as guns and knives. This means that the minimum sentence increases from three to five years in prison if perpetrators use such means.

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 BGH thereby contradicted a previous ruling by the Dresden Regional Court, which had a different opinion on this issue. The new legislation should in the future leave no doubt that the use of knockout substances justifies a prison sentence of at least five years.

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Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig wants the law to serve as a stronger deterrent for potential perpetrators. The SPD politician speaks of a “strong stop sign”.

At the first reading of the bill in September, it was generally welcomed by all political groups. Nevertheless, there was criticism. The Greens and the Left criticize, among other things, the poor data situation on the topic. Cases of sexual violence using knockout means are not recorded separately in the official police statistics.

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“A higher penalty range on paper does not in itself prevent a single crime,” says AfD MP Knuth Meyer-Soltau.

There was similar criticism from the Left and the Greens. In Germany, there is a lack of trained staff and sufficient opportunities to have yourself or your drink tested for knockout drops quickly and without bureaucratic hurdles. This is primarily a problem because with many resources every second counts. Convictions often fail because the substances can only be detected in blood and urine for a very short time.

The affected person, Kira Daviter, founder of a self-help group for people who have been victims of knockout drops, also shares this criticism. Two years ago, she was unnoticed given the powerful painkiller oxycodone through a drink in a bar. Afterwards she was raped. The next morning she remembers almost nothing.

In her case, Kira Daviter would have liked better cooperation between the hospital and the authorities: "I went to the hospital at twelve o'clock the day after the crime. It was half past four before the criminal police got there. They only took my urine at 6 p.m. I was lucky that there was still something detectable."

Although she generally thinks higher penalties are a good thing, it is urgently necessary to make other adjustments as well. For example, better training of staff in how to properly deal with victims of knockout drops.

Kira Daviter's perpetrator was sentenced to seven years in prison. A relatively high penalty and so far it has been an isolated case. However, she doesn't see this as satisfaction: "There is no enough for what was taken from me. Nothing would give me back my old life. Nothing. No matter what punishment this person gets."

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | Vote on higher penalties for the use of knockout drops | 11/06/2026 |