Rapists who use drugs to sedate their victims now face stiffer penalties through a law passed by the Ohio General Assembly last week. But Michael Scarce, coordinator of the Rape Education and Prevention Program, thinks the legislation won’t have much of an impact. Scarce said the government should spend more money on prevention, not punishment ‹ especially in sexual offenses.”It’s a quick fix,” Scarce said. “The preventive efforts are ignored.”House Bill 32 would require a minimum five-year prison sentence for a rape conviction if a controlled substance is involved. Controlled substances are drugs whose sale is regulated by law. The bill would also increase the crime of sexual battery from a fourth-degree felony to a third-degree felony. Scarce said he thinks it was unfortunate that alcohol was left out of the legislation. He said alcohol is the most common date rape drug.”They (the legislature) could have easily included alcohol in it,” he said. Rape is defined as any sexual penetration of another person with any body parts or objects without consent. According to University Police records, three rapes have been reported since 1996.Staci Kitchen, executive director of the Ohio Coalition on Sexual Assault the coalition, said she thinks the bill could work if people become more educated about drugs like Rohypnol, and realize their prevalence. She said that with increased education about date rape drugs, people will recognize the signs, and this could lead to more drug-induced rapes being reported.Kitchen said most hospital personnel are becoming more aware of what to look and test for in rapes involving drugs.”I definitely think the coalition is in support of the law and we want to be a part of the awareness process,” Kitchen said.The bill was sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Reid, R-Beavercreek, who said she got the idea for the bill after listening to her son and his friends talk about date rape drugs.