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60DESIGNER DRUGSdrugs like cocaine or heroin, it is also used by cocaine andheroin addicts.There are two common myths that are believed to increasethe usage of Rohypnol among young people: (1) it is a pharmaceuticalpill sold in sealed bubble packaging, so it is safe and freeof contaminants, and (2) it cannot be detected in urine samples.ILLEGAL SALE OF ROHYPNOLRohypnol is illegal in the United States. So, how does it get inthe country? The answer is smugglers. Since the pills are verysmall, Rohypnol tablets can easily be smuggled through the mail,in luggage, or on airplanes. Rohypnol is also easily availablefrom pharmacies in Mexico, and smugglers often hide the drug incars as they cross the border from Mexico to the United States.The year 1995 produced the largest number of Rohypnolseizures by the DEA thus far, with more than 160,000 illegalpills confiscated. In one instance, over 52,000 Rohypnol pills,concealed in plastic bags located inside a car door, wereseized by the Louisiana State Police. Also in 1995, the U.S.Border Patrol seized over 57,000 Rohypnol tablets (along with53 pounds of marijuana) en route from Mexico to Florida.Seizures of Rohypnol in the United States have declinedover subsequent years, with just under 5,000 pills beingseized by the DEA in 2000. In May 2000, DEA agents seizedapproximately 900 pills of Rohypnol that were hidden in acar crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. A few monthslater, a Tijuana, Mexico, pharmacy operator was arrested bythe DEA for illegally shipping Rohypnol pills from a Mexicanpharmacy to nearby San Ysidro—a town minutes north ofTijuana in southern California.In 2001–2002, however, business began to pick up again,and during this time the DEA seized several overnight deliverypackages originating from Colombia that contained up to11,000 Rohypnol pills each.