Overview

• The Bundesrat is set to debate and likely approve a bill today that would impose stricter penalties for crimes involving K.O.-tropfen.
• The proposed legislation would classify K.O.-tropfen as 'dangerous tools' under the Criminal Code, enabling a minimum five-year prison sentence for offences such as robbery or sexual assault using these substances.
• North Rhine-Westphalia's Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach and Hesse’s Ministerpräsident Boris Rhein have publicly endorsed the initiative, emphasizing the severe harm and injustice these crimes cause to victims.
• Currently, crimes involving K.O.-tropfen carry a maximum sentence of three years, with the substances not recognized as dangerous tools under existing law.
• K.O.-tropfen offences are underreported and difficult to prosecute due to the substances' colorless, odorless nature and rapid metabolism, with no reliable nationwide statistics available.