RECREATIONAL USE OF 'DATE-RAPE' DRUG ALARMS POLICE

GHB gaining popularity as drug of choice at bars, nightclubs, raves and
even the suburbs

The date-rape drug GHB, known on the street as 'G', is fast becoming the
drug of choice at raves and nightclubs, Ottawa police say.

A drug known for its use in "date rape" incidents is being ingested
voluntarily at an alarming rate, according to Ottawa police.

Gamma hydroxybutyrate, known on the street as "G," or "Easy Lay," is
gaining popularity as the recreational drug of choice at bars, nightclubs,
raves and even in the suburbs.

"Yeah, I've done G," said Natasha, as she sipped a vodka soda on Thursday
night. "It tastes salty."

The 22-year-old's nonchalance is surprising, not just because of the topic,
but because she is standing under the pulsing strobe lights of Willy's, a
Gatineau nightclub where two girls, aged 15 or 16, went into convulsions
last week after apparently being slipped GHB.

The incident is one of a spate of recent reports of GHB being used to drug
women before they are sexually assaulted.

But Natasha and her friend Natalie, 19, aren't concerned. They have
experimented with most drugs out there, including ecstasy, acid and
cocaine. And they have recently developed a taste for GHB.

"It speeds things up," said Natalie, her white T-shirt tied up below her
breasts. "You take some and have a couple of drinks and you feel great."

And getting your hands on the drug doesn't seem to be a problem.

"Whether you're in the schools, the parks, the workplace or the bars, this
stuff is readily available," said Louise Logue, co-coordinator of youth
intervention and diversion for Ottawa police. "We're even seeing kids in
suburban areas who have access to GHB."

Ms. Logue said the drug has been popular in Toronto and Montreal for some
time and that its recreational use in Ottawa came to the police's attention
because of a string of overdoses.

Because GHB is manufactured in liquid form, police say it can be hard for
users to know how much to take.

Just a few drops of the clear liquid can produce dizziness, disorientation
and hallucination, and a tablespoon can cause a complete loss of consciousness.

"We see people taken to hospital with vomiting, seizures, and even in
comas," said Ms. Logue. "They seem like they're just drunk, but they've
actually overdosed."

Developed as an anesthesia, GHB targets the central nervous system. Until
recently, hospitals used it during simple surgical procedures because it
has an amnesiac effect that allows patients to be treated quickly and
painlessly without memory of the procedure.

But it was banned in both Canada and the United States in 2000 because of
concern about its use in sexual assaults.

Although GHB is no longer manufactured in North America, Ms. Logue said its
ingredients are still readily and legally available, and that it can be
made anywhere by anyone.

The drug is popular within the bodybuilding community, she said, because it
stimulates muscle growth and allows users to fall into a deep sleep at any
time.

The drug's sedative powers are also part of its appeal on the bar circuit.

After an all-night rave or dance party, people who have used stimulants
such as cocaine or ecstasy will often use GHB to come down, Ms. Logue said.

But Denis Belanger, a drug information specialist at the Ottawa Hospital,
said that self-administered GHB could be exceptionally dangerous,
especially when its origins are unknown.

"Who knows about the quality of this stuff?" said Mr. Belanger. "And the
danger of overdosing skyrockets according to how impure the drug is."

When mixed with another depressant such as alcohol, GHB speeds up
intoxication, but when mixed with stimulants like ecstasy, the outcome can
be a dangerous gamble.

"The combined effects of an upper and a downer can never be predicted,"
said Mr. Belanger. "It depends on your predispositions to cardiac arrest
and a whole gamut of other possible ailments."

Because Mr. Belanger has witnessed the drug's use in legitimate medical
practices, he also worries about it being used in criminal offences.

"It's like being in a coma, only conscious," he said. "You can give people
commands and they'll follow them, but they won't remember a thing."

The body typically metabolizes GHB within 24 hours, and all traces of the
substance disappear from the body within three days. But if someone takes
too much GHB, there's no way to reverse its effects.

"There's no antidote for GHB," Mr. Belanger said. "It just has to wear off."

Steve Leu, a paramedic for Ottawa Emergency Services has responded to many
GHB-related incidents.

He was recently called to a Bayshore neighbourhood where two teenage boys
had been found unconscious by their parents. There were signs they had been
drinking, and the incident was treated as minor until Mr. Leu checked one
of the boy's heart rates.

"It was 20," he said.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the heart rate for an average
adult is 72 beats per minute. The heart rate of a well-trained aerobic
athlete beats as slowly as 40 times per minute.

"They were so drugged up they were barely alive."

A Gatineau boy recently found his parents naked and unconscious on the
bathroom floor of the family home, victims of self-inflicted GHB overdose.

Ms. Logue said these stories are common in Ottawa and across the province.

"While we have a perception that this is a seedy, underground drug which it
definitely is," she said. "It is far more readily available in the
mainstream than anyone seems to realize."

She worries that media descriptions of GHB as a "date rape" agent will
encourage more incidents of assault within the community that is already
using the drug, but said that education is always the preferred method.

"Do we tell kids that nutmeg is a hallucinogen but can also cause heart
failure?" she asked. "Are we giving them ideas? Maybe. But from a police
perspective, keeping them informed is still the lesser of two evils."

But knowing the dangerous side effects of the drug, from seizures to sexual
assaults, is not enough to keep some people from trying it.

Back at Willy's, Natasha and Natalie are comparing notes on their
experiences with GHB, and dismiss the likelihood of something going wrong.

"If anything is going in my drink, I'm the one who's putting it there,"
said Natalie. "And these days, any kind of drug I want, I can find."