DRUG DOUBLY DANGEROUS

'Date-Rape Drug' Being Used For Recreational Purposes

In the local battle against drugs, Iowa City law enforcement is changing
its priorities to focus on a new challenge: a so-called "date rape drug"
turning recreational fad.

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program released a report Wednesday noting a 15
percent increase in suspected drug-facilitated sexual assaults this year.
The potentially deadly drug GHB - an odorless, colorless substance easily
slipped into a person's drink - is thought to be the culprit, local
officials said.

University Hospitals saw its first GHB overdose patient a year and a half
ago, and has logged one or more monthly since fall.

But when it comes to arrests, even for possession, GHB is an elusive target
for police.

The Johnson County Drug Task Force, with a handful of investigations
ongoing, has netted one major bust of ingredients, two liquid grams of
finished product and a February arrest for distributing GHB.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Doug Hart said authorities will target the drug, its
users and pushers, in the months ahead. Police recently raised the topic of
GHB to school district officials - a discussion one administrator later
called "disturbing" - and Wednesday marked the beginning of a joint
education effort with RVAP.

"It's an awakening," national drug consultant Trinka Porrata said, adding
that Iowa City is not alone. "It's always been there. (Police) have always
seen it, but just didn't know.

"We've missed it. We've just absolutely missed it."

Cheap, Quick High

Much like the club drug Ecstasy, officials say, GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate)
and its knock-offs are gaining popularity with high school- and
college-aged youth wanting a cheap, quick high. Its intoxicating effects
begin 10 to 20 minutes after the drug is taken and last up to four hours.

What follows is a deep, drug-induced sleep.

Local youths are mixed in their opinions of whether GHB-related drugs are
commonplace among their peers or exist only on the fringe. Many have never
heard of GHB. Some have, but say the fad has passed. Still others say it is
easy to come by and have witnesses it being used.

David Woody is just 16, but the Des Moines native has seen and heard enough
to be well-versed on the topic.

"When you take (GHB), you're supposed to take it with alcohol just like
other drugs, because that intensifies the high," Woody said - making clear,
however, that he is not a user. "You can cook it, drink it, chew it, snort
it. .... It's as readily available as Ecstasy. Just a little more expensive."

Overdoses of the depressant can occur quickly, dropping a person's
breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels, according to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. In local cases of suspected drug-facilitated
sexual assaults, victims told RVAP counselors they experienced an unusual
memory loss, problems functioning and a stronger feeling of intoxication
than expected with the amount of alcohol they drank.

Sgt. Hart said law enforcement is concerned not only with the dangers of
recreational GHB use, but with the potential crossover effect on sexual
assaults. So far, he said, no such cases have been confirmed. But the drug
disappears from the body's system so quickly - leaving the bloodstream in
four hours; urine in 12 - it can be difficult to catch.

"It's a real problem (to find) and of course it's an expense," said
Porrata, a retired narcotics detective who served 25 years on the Los
Angeles Police Department. "It's a nightmare from hell."

Sexual assault investigators at University Hospitals began doing full-scale
drug testing in all rape cases nine months ago, said RVAP agency director
Theresa Klingenberg.

"Part of the problem at this point is nearly anyone can be vulnerable to
this drug," Klingenberg said, given the aura of safety that surrounds GHB
and other club drugs. Plus how easily they can be slipped to an
unsuspecting victim. "It makes it difficult to do prevention."

The best advice, experts say, is if a drink tastes flat or suspect, leave
it alone. If a person has suspicions of being drugged and assaulted, go to
the hospital and demand to be tested immediately. The person should avoid
urinating first, to avoid passing the drug.

'... Just A Better High'

Rikka Johnson, 22, a University of Iowa senior, said she began learning
about GHB a year ago.

"I just now started hearing more about it at random parties I've been to,
that it was available and I could get it if I wanted," Johnson said, but
added that she never witnessed anyone using the drug. "What I've heard is
that it's not at all like Ecstasy, it's not a hallucinogen, it's just a
better high."

Iowa City School District officials say they are just starting to gather
information about GHB and, thus, do not currently include information about
it or Ecstasy in the curriculum. Authorities say the two club drugs have
begun to take the place of methamphetamine the past two years.

"The challenge that we have is to try and keep up with that; to provide
good information in a timely way," said Joan VandenBerg, at-risk
coordinator for the Iowa City School District. "Kids need to have good
information about what the consequences of doing these things will do, but
there also has to be a balance," she said. "We have to focus on why kids
are choosing to do this."

Porrata has an answer: "It's cheaper than alcohol. It's a substitute for
alcohol. It isn't detected by police," she said, explaining that there is
no field test for GHB.

Alison Oliver-Correll, RVAP's co-director of education services, said she
is getting more requests for GHB information from college groups. While
much of the issue centers on a person being watchful of their drink, she
said, increasingly more common are people using the drug then becoming victims.

"Perpetrators are looking for vulnerabilities," Oliver-Correll said.
"People are taking drugs like GHB or Rohypnol (another sedative club drug)
and perpetrators are facilitating an assault based on that vulnerability."

The person assaulted, often already hesitant to go to police, then feels
added reluctance to tell police about their drug use, she said. But police
say their interest is investigating the assault, the more serious crime.

GHB Cases

The Iowa Poison Control Center recorded five GHB cases statewide last year;
four so far this year. The Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy said
statewide numbers are nearly non-existent. LSD and Ecstasy are more
prevalent, still far outpaced by marijuana and meth.

University Hospitals averages one meth user daily, typically for
psychiatric problems, said Mark Graber, associate professor of emergency
medicine and family medicine. The biggest problem, however, remains alcohol.

"We see so much alcohol-related stuff, it's not uncommon to find someone
unresponsive," said Johnson County Ambulance field supervisor Bob Libby.
"At what point do you draw the line and say, well this might be GHB, or
Ecstasy or whatever?"

But Graber and local paramedics say there is no doubt GHB-related cases are
increasing. The signs of GHB overdose are unique, Graber said: unresponsive
until roused, then the person becomes highly agitated and violent.

Porrata has a database of 175 suspected GHB-related deaths in recent years.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has confirmed 71 of those, she said,
but lacks the manpower to go farther.

"We've let these kids down," Porrata said of drug education to date. "There
are a lot of kids out there who don't want to do drugs. We've hit them with
the big four (marijuana, cocaine, heroine and meth). We haven't told them
about GHB and Ecstasy.

"There is this huge aura of innocence and safety based on bullcrap and lies
on the Internet," she said. "I consider it (GHB) the most dangerous drug I
have encountered in my 25 years in law enforcement."