1Assistant Professor, SOA National Institute of Law, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
2Professor, SOA National Institute of Law, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
3Associate Professor, SOA National Institute of Law, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
*Corresponding Author: Akash Trikha, Assistant Professor, SOA National Institute of Law, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Received: 20th Oct, 2025; Revised: 22th Dec, 2025; Accepted: 22th Jan, 2026; Available Online: 17th Feb, 2026
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a severe medico-legal issue where the offenders apply psychoactive substances to disable the victims, and make them unable to fight or remember the incident. Benzodiazepines are one of the substances, which have drawn specific forensic interest among the substances involved in DFSA through their sedative and amnestic effects. Clonazepam (a long-acting benzodiazepine, used in the treatment of anxiety and epileptic seizures) is a drug that has been mentioned more and more frequently in forensic cases due to the possibility of abusing this drug in a sexual crime. This paper analyzes the forensic pharmacology of clonazepam and quantitatively assesses the loss in evidence that is caused by delay in reporting and toxicological testing. The study examines the behaviour of the concentration of clonazepam decay over time and how this changes the toxicological likelihood of detection in body fluids based on pharmacodynamic modelling research and secondary data on forensic toxicology studies published between 2016-2026. The observations reveal that clonazepam is a first-order eliminator, which means that the levels of the drug will reduce speedily once consumed. The likelihood of toxicological confirmation is high during the first 12-24 hours followed by a decrease after 48 hours and an insignificant possibility after 72 hours in traditional matrices like blood and urine. These findings illustrate the fact that any delay in forensic analysis and sample storage can significantly lower the amount of evidence in toxicological results in DFSA examinations. The research points to the relevance of fast medical assessment, prompt evidence gathering, and higher analytical levels in maintaining pharmacological evidence. Also, the results give weight to the fact that the courts should note that the negative toxicology evidence could be attributed to the effect of pharmacokinetic elimination as opposed to the lack of administering the drug. By incorporating the pharmacokinetic into investigative science so as to integrate knowledge on pharmacokinetics with willingness to forensic procedures and legal practices, the investigation is likely to yield better results and the prosecution of sexual assault presented using clonazepam is likely to be enhanced with stronger evidence base.
Keywords: Drug-facilitated sexual assault; clonazepam; forensic pharmacology; benzodiazepines; toxicological detection
How to cite this article: Trikha A, Pattnaik PK, Mohapatra CK, Forensic Pharmacology of Clonazepam in Sexual Violence: Trial Delay-Induced Evidentiary Loss- A Quantitative Study...Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026; 16(2): 327-338; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.2.36
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None