The drug, also known as "roofies," is a powerful sedative which can knock a person unconscious and cause temporary memory loss, said Ed Howard, supervising investigator with the state Narcotics Enforcement Division.

Local law enforcement last week saw first-hand what the drug can do. "It's really scary," Howard said.

A Florida couple who arrived from Bangkok last Monday were so sedated they could not control their bowels while in custody, he said. They admitted taking the drug before their plane landed in Honolulu, Howard said, and the man had to be rushed to a hospital emergency room.

"It screwed them up big time," Howard said.

The man, 49, and woman, 20, of Miami Beach, were arrested for attempting to smuggle in 30 Rohypnol tablets - the second biggest seizure here of the drug.

They were released without charges pending further investigation, and have since left Honolulu. U.S. Customs officials have been warned to be on the lookout in case they return.

In cases reported on the mainland, women have claimed to have been sexually molested or assaulted after the drug was slipped into their drinks. "When they wake up one or two days later, they won't remember what happened," Howard said.

Hawaii's Uniform Controlled Substances Act lists Rohypnol as a Schedule IV drug, which are mostly low-grade depressants such as Valium.

"What's frustrating for us is that until we can get this drug to Schedule I, it's only a misdemeanor offense," Howard said.

Officials want Rohypnol reclassified as a Schedule I drug, as are other drugs with high potential for abuse which have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and have not been deemed safe for use under medical supervision, said Sidney Hayakawa, assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration here. If Rohypnol were a Schedule I or II drug, possession of a tablet or even a quarter tablet would be punishable by five to 20 years imprisonment.

Rohypnol is sold legally in 60 foreign countries to treat insomnia. But the federal government earlier this year banned its importation into the United States, citing increasing abuse and growing association with "date rape."

Drug enforcement officials on the mainland say Rohypnol is close to "epidemic proportions," Howard said.

It is being smuggled into the United States from Mexico via Texas and California, with some coming into Florida from South America. Texas authorities have seized 50,000 to 100,000 tablets at a time.

The drug has been creeping into Hawaii over the past three months in small quantities, said Walter Collette, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Customs office of investigations here.

In the past three months, U.S. Customs has notified state narcotics officials of at least a half-dozen cases.

Fifty of the distinctive white tablets were the most seized here at one time, said Aaron Keels, U.S. Customs inspector. The package arrived in May from Thailand.

"We've had incidences on the East Coast that have been troublesome to the DEA. However in Hawaii, we have not seen any real smuggling or that type of abuse," Hayakawa said.

"But," he added, "you have to keep in mind, traditionally, whatever affects the U.S. mainland, would eventually come to us."

Rohypnol comes in a flat white tablet with a cross scored on one side that enables it to be broken into quarters. The other side has the letter R - for the Swiss-based manufacturer F. Hoffman-La Roche Inc. and the number 1 or 2. The R may be circled. It's available now in off-white or yellow.

Tablets sell for $10 to $30 each.