FIVE-YEAR-OLD DRINKS FATHER'S PARTY DRUG

Dad Waited Two Hours, Then Called For Ambulance

A five-year-old Vancouver girl is recovering at Children's Hospital
after drinking from her father's water bottle laced with party drug
GHB.

"Apparently the daughter had gone into the freezer and taken a drink,"
said Const. Howard Chow.

"The father realized right away it was GHB."

But he waited almost two hours to see how the girl was doing before
calling for an ambulance on Wednesday.

When help finally arrived, Chow said, "she was limp, very serious."

Her condition has improved and she was out of danger last night.

The 32-year-old man was looking after his daughter while his wife was
away.

"The man said he had it in the house and was using it for recreational
purposes," said Chow.

"He hasn't been formally charged yet."

Two years ago, a 33-year-old Vancouver father was charged with
criminal negligence after his three-year-old daughter drank water
laced with GHB from his water bottle.

He had brought the clear and odourless drink home from a party and
left it where the child could reach it.

The unconscious child was rushed to Children's Hospital and survived.

Sgt. Scott Rintoul, the RCMP's drug awareness officer, said some
people take the potentially lethal drug because it has similar effects
to alcohol, with no calories or hangover.

"In our country GHB is primarily used as an alcohol substitute," he said.

It can also leave a person with no recollection of what they've done.

"Certainly it has been used as a tool in sexual assaults," Rintoul said.

"Without a doubt it could be fatal to a child."

GHB appeared in Vancouver in the early 1990s among bodybuilders.

It was outlawed by the federal government in 1998, following a similar
move in the U.S. where it was linked to at least 60 deaths.

In the U.S., GHB overdoses are now more common than ecstacy overdoses.