Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid

Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) produces a wide range of central nervous system effects, including dose-dependent drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, amnesia, visual hallucinations, hypotension, brady-cardia, severe respiratory depression, and coma. The use of alcohol in combination with GHB greatly enhances its depressant effects. Overdose frequently requires emergency room care and many GHB-related fatalities have been reported.

Gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol are GHB analogues that can be used as substitutes for GHB. When ingested, these analogues are converted to GHB and produce identical effects. GBL is also used in the clandestine production of GHB as an immediate precursor. Both GBL and 1,4-butanediol have been sold at health food stores and on various internet sites.

The abuse of GHB began to seriously escalate in the mid-1990s. For example, in 1994, there were 55 emergency department episodes involving GHB reported in the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN; a statistical record of times a drug is involved in a drug abuse episode in emergency rooms in the United States). In 1999, there were 2,973 GHB episodes. DAWN data also indicated that most users were males, less than 25 years of age, taking the drug orally for recreational use.

GHB was placed in Schedule I of the CSA in March 2000. Gamma butyrolactone (GBL) was made a List I Chemical in February 2000. While not approved for marketing in the United States, GHB is being evaluated for its possible use in the treatment of cataplexy associated with some types of narcolepsy.

TRAFFICKING

GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), a central nervous system depressant, was banned by the FDA in 1990. On February 18, 2000, President William J. Clinton signed the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Prohibition Act of 2000. This legislation makes GHB a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).

GHB generates feelings of euphoria and intoxication. It is often combined in a carbonated, alcohol, or health food drink, and is reportedly popular among adolescents and young adults attending raves and nightclubs. At lower doses, GHB causes drowsiness, nausea, and visual disturbances. At higher dosages, unconsciousness, seizures, severe respiratory depression, and coma can occur.

GHB has been used in the commission of sexual assaults because it renders the victim incapable of resisting, and may cause memory problems that could complicate case prosecution. GHB recipes are accessible over the Internet; the drug is simple to manufacture, and can be made in a bathtub or even a Pyrex baking dish. DEA, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, seized 13 GHB laboratories in 2001, 5 of which were located in California, compared to 20 GHB laboratories in 2000 with 12 of these seized in California.

GBL (gamma butyrolactone), an analog of GHB, is also abused. GBL is a chemical used in many industrial cleaners and it also has been marketed as a health supplement. GBL is synthesized by the body to produce GHB. One 55-gallon drum yields 240,000 capfuls of GBL. One capful sells for $8.00, potentially yielding 1.9 million dollars per 55-gallon drum.