Bundestag set to vote Friday on five-year minimum for K.o. drops in sex crimes

The bill

The Bundestag votes on Friday, 6 November, on a government bill that would list K.o. drops alongside weapons and dangerous tools as a 'gefährliches Mittel' in the penal code. Anyone who uses them to rape or rob someone would face at least five years in prison, where the current minimum for such acts is three years. The change follows a Federal Court of Justice ruling that such substances in a drink do not count as a 'dangerous tool' under paragraph 177, which among other things punishes rape. The parliamentary groups agree that this gap should be closed, but they still debate whether harsher penalties deter enough and how prevention and protection can be improved.

Current law3

Draft bill5

Current law

3 years

Draft bill

5 years

Data from the article text

Dispute over the wording

The Bundesrat warned that the wording could cause application problems and leave gaps in liability, and it proposed referring instead to 'poison or other substances harmful to health'. The government rejected that proposal, arguing that its own formulation reaches further. Hubig also rejected the Bundesrat's concern that a longer gap between dosing and the act could make harsher punishment harder to secure, saying a defendant must be acquitted if the act cannot be proven. She added that proof is difficult but not impossible, and pointed to existing convictions for K.o. drug use. Hubig pointed to cases in which men drug their partners and said:

“Administering K.o. drops through one's own partner, possibly in the shared home, is unbelievably despicable and perfidious.”

The core problem is evidence: liquid ecstasy and similar substances are broken down in blood within a few hours and can be detected in urine for at most 12 hours. Counselling services therefore advise anyone who suspects K.o. drops to see a doctor or the police as quickly as possible.

Cases in Baden-Württemberg

Police are looking into a Halloween party in Rottweil where 11 guests suddenly felt unwell and some vomited, and three had to be treated in hospital. Police suspect the drops may have been administered. Similar suspicions have surfaced in Baden-Württemberg, including at the Cannstatter Wasen and a club in Stuttgart in early 2026. The state registered 171 cases linked to K.o. drops in 2023, according to an inquiry submitted to the interior ministry. Many victims go to the police late or not at all, so there are few reliable figures on how often the drugs are used or how often they are tied to other crimes. Warning signs include sudden nausea, dizziness, circulatory problems and memory gaps.

Harassment and the wider package

Hubig's ministry has also presented a draft that would extend paragraph 184i of the Criminal Code to verbal and non-verbal harassment without physical contact. Under the wording, anyone who harasses another person with a sexually determined remark or gesture suited to intimidate or pressure them could face up to one year in prison or a fine. The ministry says less serious conduct, such as sexually motivated whistling or staring and clumsy compliments, should not be punishable, even if the person affected feels harassed. Hubig argues that the term catcalling downplays such acts. A separate 'yes means yes' rule to protect against rape is still outstanding but is set to come.

Reactions

Hubig framed the bill as a warning to offenders:

“The law sends a clear signal to perpetrators, potential perpetrators and to those affected. It is about a minimum sentence, and five years is a great deal.”

Lower Saxony's justice minister Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD) backs the tougher penalties and says those who use K.o. drops should be punished as hard as those who use a weapon. Hamburg's justice senator Anna Galina (Greens) considers the change necessary, and her office calls it an important building block for better protection against sexualised violence. Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern broadly support the bill. The Federal Association of Women's Counselling Centres and Women's Emergency Hotlines (bff) says such offences carry high wrongdoing and that victims cannot reconstruct what was done to them. The Greens and the Left have called on the federal government to pursue a broader strategy on K.o. drops.