RECREATIONAL USE OF DATE RAPE DRUG SURGES

Police Concerned: Cheap, Dangerous GHB Becoming Popular With
Young

The number of young Canadians voluntarily using the date rape drug GHB to
get high is on the rise, police say.

Gamma hydroxybutyrate, known on the street as liquid ecstasy or 'G,' has
already replaced Rohypnol as the weapon of choice for sexual predators. GHB
is poised to become the favoured recreational drug on the club scene, says
Detective Howard Page of the vice squad run by the Toronto Police Service.

"When we started seeing crack cocaine in the late '80s, we were told by our
American counterparts it was going to be an epidemic. I'm telling you, with
GHB and ecstasy, this will become the drug of choice by the youth. It's the
huge drug of choice in nightclubs."

GHB, a nervous-system depressant, is difficult to distinguish from water
because it is odourless and colourless. Its main derivative, GLB, is legal
in Canada, so buyers can easily convert it into a date-rape drug, usually
slipped into a person's drink, causing dizziness, loss of inhibition,
memory impairment and often loss of consciousness.

Predators know rape cases involving GHB are difficult to prosecute because
there is no trace of the drug after 12 hours.

The flip side of GHB is that it can serve as a social lubricant if taken in
tiny doses, triggering a euphoric feeling and enhancing sexual urges.

Five dollars fills a bottle cap, much cheaper than a bar tab at the end of
a night or a pricey line of cocaine for a high that lasts mere minutes.

There is also no hangover with GHB.

Janet Ward, 23, of Vancouver, has used GHB recreationally twice.

"Everyone was doing it and I said, 'What the heck, I'll try it,' " she said.

Neither experience was positive. The first time, she passed out and woke up
in a stairwell, covered in her own vomit. Six hours had passed.

"Nothing happened, to my knowledge."

She tried it again at a house party in Kelowna, B.C. She passed out again,
and this time awoke to find herself being fondled by another woman while
people took pictures.

"I'd never put myself in that situation again," said Ms. Ward, who is
launching a GHB awareness campaign in Vancouver because some of her friends
were sexually assaulted after taking the drug recreationally.

Detective-Sergeant Lee Woodman, of the drug enforcement section of the
Ontario Provincial Police, says GHB has found its way into communities
across the country.

"It's not restricted to the cities. It's out in the smaller towns much like
ecstasy is, just like heroin is."

Police in cities such as Halifax, Moncton, Gatineau and London admit young
people are using GHB recreationally.

"I think it's quite popular," an RCMP officer in Moncton said.

Det.-Sgt. Woodman said many people use GHB to enhance an ecstasy high or to
soften the effects of post-cocaine or heroin high.

"It lessons the crash. The feeling is just horrendous and it alleviates a
lot of that."

Getting high on GHB is always hazardous, he insisted. Ten milligrams can
cause blackouts, making a person vulnerable to a sexual attack.

An overdose can induce a coma or result in death.

Sometimes, users are unaware they are taking GHB. "When they say liquid
ecstasy, some people think they're taking ecstasy. That's the common
danger. It's manufactured in the sink at home, not in a lab," Det.- Sgt.
Woodman said.

A 32-year-old Vancouver professional who asked not to be named has a
different take on GHB.

He has been a recreational user for about four years, before it became
known as a date rape drug.

His friends, well-educated young professionals, were not interested in hard
drugs, but were intrigued by GHB.

"It looked interesting and something we wanted to try," he said.

They liked the sensation. "GHB makes you randy," he said.

They do not mix it with alcohol and take care of one another to avoid
blackouts or 'G-naps,' he said.

"It's something you kind of watch. We're very careful about our timing, our
dosage and keep an eye on one another. We police each other."

Det. Page of the Toronto Police Service said he sees the other side of the
drug.

"It's a mean drug. It's used as a weapon. It scares me because of how
easily they can put it into someone's drink."