Law Enforcement in 1988 - Date Rape Drugs

I have a character in my novel set in 1988 who drugs and rapes women. I'm having some trouble determining for sure which drug he would use, but I'm leaning toward Rohypnol. Can anyone tell me the answers to these questions?

1. Did Rohypnol look like aspirin in 1988 and was it packaged in blister packaging at that time? (I've read various descriptions but haven't been able to find out what they looked like at the time my story takes place.)
2. Would my character have been able to buy Rohypnol from an ordinary drug dealer or would he have had to have a contact in a country where it was legal?
3. While I've seen the term "date rape" used in a 1988 After School Special and a few other references that could indicate the term was used then, would it be unlikely for the characters in my story to refer to this crime as "date rape"?
4. How strong would the evidence have had to be in order for police to investigate a suspected drug/date rape in 1988?

Thanks in advance to anything anyone can tell me!

King Neptune said:

Rohybnol was not legally available in the U.S., but I believe that there was some smuggling.
https://www.erowid.org/pharms/flunitrazepam/flunitrazepam_timeline.php

1989 - the first smuggling from Europe and Mexico to U.S.A
https://prezi.com/dbiatykkscdz/rohypnol-drug-prezi/

There are other drugs that have been used the same way.

There also have been date rapes that did not involve drugs or unconsciousness at all. The term "date rape" was in use in the early 1970's, but it did not generally refer to a woman being drugged to unconsciousness; it was simply a date that bacame a rape, which was bad enough.

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I've been debating about the term "date rape" because in my story, although the rapist has drinks with his victims, they aren't actually on "dates".

I read (somewhere - I need to look back through the links and pdf's I've saved) a list of countries where Rohypnol was legal with a prescription in the 1980's, and I've tossed around the idea of my character having a contact in one of those countries who sends it to him by mail. This will also add another charge when he is arrested.

WeaselFire said:

Rohypnol never looked like aspirin. It had a line across it and the letters ROCHE on the opposite side, or came in an elongated capsule like a dramamine. It was usually sold as single pills, no packaging. It was readily available in some circles.

It started showing up in the late 1980's, usually smuggled from Mexico at the time. It's a benzodiazepine, similar to Valium but faster acting and stronger. Kind of makes you feel really drunk, in about 15 minutes or so.

What do you need for your story?

Jeff

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They don't have to look exactly like aspirin on close examination, as long as they could be mistaken for aspirin if they were in an aspirin bottle and someone saw them quickly from a distance.

I also considered Ketamine but I don't remember now why I decided against it. I consdiered GHB for a time, especially because it would have been easy to get in the 80's, but since it was legal at the time it would be harder, I think, to build a provable case against the rapist character.

What I need is something that (combined with alcohol) would render his victims unconscious without drastic side effects, other than maybe a hangover. His victims don't know for sure that they've been raped.

Thanks to everyone for your responses! I apologize for my absence . . . lots of things going on and pulling me off track.

I have a few related questions and I am hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction.

1. I've read that Ketamine causes amnesia, but I can't seem to find out how long a period the amnesia would cover. For instance, if someone were abducted and tied up, then injected with Ketamine, would they later remember being abducted and tied up or would a portion of the time preceding the injection also be a blur?

2. My character also experiments with sodium thiopental to try to get information from someone. If I understand correctly, my victim would become unconscious for 5-10 minutes and then regain consciousness, and would be very relaxed and talkative. I wrote the scene so that my victim is initially confused when she regains consciousness, drawing on my closest experience to anything like this (when I passed out after having my ears flushed with water at a doctor's office). After she is conscious, I drew on my own experience of being given Valium during a medical procedure and wrote the scene so that she had an awareness that something was wrong, while at the same time, she didn't really care. Does anyone know if this is an accurate depiction?

3. I also read that "Intravenous administration of sodium thiopental is followed instantly by an odor and/or taste sensation, sometimes described as being similar to rotting onions, or to garlic." (Wikipedia) Does anyone know how long that effect would last? Would my victim have that odor/taste sensation when she regains consciousness?