MAN ADMITS MAKING HUGE 1,100 LBS. OF DATE RAPE DRUG

A 23-year-old Elk Grove Village man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he
manufactured more than 1,100 pounds of a dangerous but increasingly popular
drug among teens in the suburbs.

John Keith Dilg was the first person in the Chicago area to face federal
charges for making massive quantities of the drug known as GHB, or the date
rape drug.

Dilg made the drug at his parent's Elk Grove Village home and at his
apartment at Southern Illinois University in what authorities said was one
of the largest GHB productions they've ever witnessed.

Dilg's conviction, the result of a plea agreement, comes as GHB has become
the up-and-coming thing at rave parties, teen nightclubs and college
fraternities and sororities.

"It's very prevalent because it's easy - unfortunately, too easy - to make
with household items," DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba said.

Robert Randall, deputy chief of investigations for the Lake County sheriff's
police, said GHB use, as with any newly emerging drug, may be more
widespread than commonly thought.

"We can only assume its use is worse than is reported," he said.

GHB and its cousin, Rohypnol, are sometimes referred to as "date rape
drugs." Because they are largely tasteless and colorless but can leave their
victims in a drunken-like state, the substances have been slipped into
drinks to facilitate rape. GHB supplanted Rohypnol in popularity when
Rohypnol's manufacturer began adding a blue dye, enabling people to detect
it in drinks.

Now GHB is being passed willingly - albeit sometimes unwittingly - from one
person to another for recreational use.

Michael Cleary, special agent in charge of criminal investigations for the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency that initiated the charges
against Dilg, said he doesn't understand the drug's appeal, given its toxicity.

"It's ridiculous that this drug is so popular because what they're putting
into their system is so noxious," Cleary said. "It's made from engine
degreaser and Drano."

Cleary said the drug's use is growing because it is cheap, provides a quick
high and can be made on a kitchen stove, with kits easily obtained over the
Internet.

GHB kicks in within 5 to 20 minutes and the high lasts up to three hours. It
has the same effects as alcohol, without the hangover.

It costs from $5 to $10 per dose. In small doses, it induces a sense of
euphoria and a loss of inhibition. At higher doses, it acts like a sedative
and can cause disorientation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of memory,
vertigo, seizures, comas and even death.

The drug is scary enough on its own, even scarier when its mixed with
alcohol, said Zaruba.

"Add alcohol to the mix and you could black out or worse," Zaruba said. "Or,
you could be at some kid's party and somebody drops it into a punch bowl.
That's another scary aspect. You can smell pot, you can smell alcohol, you
can't smell this stuff."

Dilg, an independent sales contractor for the Daily Herald, testified that
he sometimes warned the people he sold GHB to not to mix it with booze. He
knew the dangers of GHB firsthand - he was hospitalized and on a ventilator
once after using it, he testified.

He will be sentenced Feb. 25 and could face from 18 months to 24 months in
prison and a fine of up to $750,000.

Prosecutors, however, said they would present evidence that Dilg sexually
assaulted a woman who was under the influence of GHB and would seek a
stiffer penalty. Dilg's attorney, Sean Sullivan, said he would argue against
a longer sentence.

Cleary said Dilg was charged under federal statutes because the
investigation preceded the state's classification of GHB as a controlled
substance. Under federal law, possession of GHB is not illegal although its
manufacture and sale is prohibited under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Illinois is among some 35 states that have passed laws imposing stiff
penalties for possessing or distributing the drug. Under the Illinois law
adopted in August 1997, possession or sale of more than 200 grams of GHB is
a felony, punishable with a prison sentence of six to 30 years.

It will be about a year before GHB is classified under federal law as a
controlled substance and greater penalties are imposed for its possession
and distribution, Cleary estimated.

Rogene Waite, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency, explained that
the process for classifying a drug as a controlled substance involves a
comprehensive review of available scientific and medical information and the
collection of data about abuse of the drug.

"It's designed to make sure decisions are carefully taken," Waite said.

The abuse of GHB has expanded to "significant proportions," she said, citing
figures from poison-control databases nationwide showing more than 600 GHB
cases in 1996 and 900 in 1997. Also, Waite said, incidents of GHB-related,
emergency-room visits nationwide have risen steadily from 20 in 1992 to 762
in 1997, the latest figures available.

"When it appears in the emergency room, that's significant," she said.

According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, chemists first
synthesized GHB, short for gamma hydroxybutyric acid, in the early 1960s. A
nutrient produced by the body, GHB was touted as a promising treatment for
the sleep disorder narcolepsy, for depression and for anxiety. Its ability
to activate growth hormones and burn fat also was heralded, making it a
favorite among body builders, and it was sold in health food stores.

After monitoring the substance for years, the FDA banned GHB in 1990, when
it noted a pattern of GHB-induced illnesses.

In the United States, its only approved use is in government-sponsored
clinical trials for the treatment of narcolepsy.

The drug made a high-profile appearance in the Northwest suburbs in July.

Eight late-night patrons of Club Fever in Rolling Meadows were hospitalized
briefly after overdosing on GHB and suffering reactions ranging from
vomiting to unconsciousness. None of the patrons was charged with possession
of the drug, which they told police they ingested voluntarily after getting
it from another patron at the club.

In response to the GHB overdoses and other arrests at the teen nightclub,
Rolling Meadows officials Tuesday enacted an ordinance, similar to one in
Schaumburg, that regulates entertainment businesses that cater to young adults.

Under the new law, which is effective Jan. 1, patrons would be forbidden to
leave and re-enter a club on the same day. Metal detectors would be
installed to scan for weapons, and two off-duty Rolling Meadows police
officers would be hired as security and allowed access to the clubs at all
times, without a warrant.