While the most frequently used drug in date rapes or DFSAs (drug facilitated sexual assaults) is alcohol, multiple studies found the most common substances were cannabis, cocaine, and MDMA. Compounding the issue, GHB also occurs naturally in wines. Anything acidic: wines, fruit juices, would have caused it to turn positive. An interactive lesson at University at Buffalo found that the GHB test was only an acid test. Another study of commercially available card testing kits found that in laboratory conditions, testers only correctly detected two out of three drugged samples. A study of commercially available “date-rape” drug testing coasters found that they were unreliable - changing color for things like different brands of mineral water, taking an extremely long time for ketamine, and giving a false positive once milk was used. While the media cheers, we suffer from a severe lack of any actual data on whether these testing kits function. However, Undercover Colors didn’t demonstrate they had anything more tangible than a concept: we saw no evidence that the start-up had produced an effective prototype, and some critics maintained that the concept of such a drug-detecting fingernail polish wasn’t even a feasible one:

If her nail polish changes color, she’ll know that something is wrong. With our nail polish, any woman will be empowered to discreetly ensure her safety by simply stirring her drink with her finger. Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime.įor our first product, we are developing a nail polish that changes color when it comes in contact with date rape drugs such as Rohypnol, Xanax, and GHB. While date rape drugs are often used to facilitate sexual assault, very little science exists for their detection. Undercover Colors maintained a Facebook page, on which the company’s social media team explained why the product was conceived and how it would work: According to the students who hatched the idea behind Undercover Colors, this nail polish formula would work to detect the presence of drugs commonly used to facilitate date rape. In August 2014, interest in an in-development product called “Undercover Colors” swept the social web.

Undercover colors