'A PERFECT DRUG' FOR A PREDATOR

GHB Often Carried In Visine Bottle Or Lens Container To Parties

GHB sells on the street for between $10 and $25 for 10 millilitres and
usually comes in a small plastic container.

Some people bring the undiluted drug to nightclubs in a Visine bottle, or
contact lens container, to evade security, said Const. Scott Rintoul, the
RCMP's drug awareness officer.

He estimates three teaspoons of undiluted GHB would make someone pass out
for up to eight hours.

"From a predator's point of view, it remains a perfect drug," he said.

"I had a girl in my office recently who was drugged with GHB at a work
party and another girl who became nauseous after her third glass of wine at
a busy restaurant and went home and passed out. She went to the doctor the
next morning and was definitely drugged."

GHB is highly addictive and the withdrawal process is similar to heroin
withdrawal. The drug was developed in the 1940s as an anesthetic but failed
to impress the medical community.

When steroids were banned in the U.S. in the late 1980s, GHB reappeared
because it aids in building muscle mass.

The drug is also called G, jib, scoop and liquid E.

While the RCMP doesn't have statistics on GHB deaths in Canada, Rintoul
said there are dozens of recorded GHB overdose deaths in the U.S.

A major problem for the RCMP is that the product used to make GHB is
readily available from suppliers of cleaning chemicals.

Health Canada is considering making the base product a class-B chemical,
meaning suppliers will have to be licensed by Health Canada.

Rintoul said party-goers should never leave a drink unattended. They should
leave immediately if they suddenly feel intoxicated without having had a
large amount of alcohol and never stay on at a party after their friends
have left.

For more information on GHB visit www.projectghb.org.