BAN URGED ON RAVERS' ECSTASY IN A BOTTLE

Peter Hetherington on a new drug on the club scene.

It Is Colourless, Odourless And Can Kill

Pressure is mounting on the Government to ban a liquid drug, increasingly
popular on the club scene, which has already killed at least one woman in
Britain and left several other young people in comas.

Known as "GBH", or "liquid Ecstasy", the colourless and odourless drug,
gamma hydroxy butyrate, is said to increase sex-drive and euphoria before
inducing sedation and sleep. It also stimulates growth hormones and is
popular with body builders.

But concern is growing because drug abuse agencies and doctors believe that
GBH, which can be acquired by mail order, is also illegally made - with
doses often varying between similarly-sized bottles.

Originally developed in the US as a pre-surgery anaesthetic, the drug has
now been banned in some states after criticism from the Federal Food and
Drug Administration.

Over the past week, Greater Manchester police have been circulating
leaflets to bars and clubs in Bolton after four men and two women collapsed
outside a pub in the town after taking the drug. Two suffered cardiac
arrests and others had breathing problems.

Three months ago Andrea Murphy, 25, a catering manageress from Wigan, died
from the affects of GBH. She was found dead in the bedroom of her flat and
her parents believe she took the drug because she was having trouble
sleeping.

Last year a man aged 32 was placed on a ventilator in the intensive care
unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, after falling
unconscious in one of the city's night clubs.

Medical staff say he only regained full consciousness after 12 hours.
Alistair Gascoigne, an intensive care consultant, said recently: "If you
take enough of it you stop breathing. Some probably do not realise it is an
anaesthetic - but in hospital there is an anaesthetist to support breathing
and keep people alive."

Possession is not an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act because the
liquid is classed as a medicine, although unauthorised manufacture could be
illegal under the Medicines Act.

But Hilton Dawson, Labour MP for Wyre, is compiling a list of GBH-related
incidents to hand to the Home Office in an attempt to get the substance
banned.

The Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence in Britain says that GBH,
like alcohol, "breaks down social inhibitions and increases libido". As the
dosage increases, however, euphoria gives way to powerful sedation. "There
have been reports of nausea, vomiting, stiffening of muscles, convulsions,
coma and respiratory collapse."

It warned of confusion over dosages. "A given bottle could contain around
three grams of the drug - in theory quite a mild dose - or up to 20 grams,
which is a very high dose."

During the 1980s GBH was widely-available in health food stores. Scientific
bulletins reported that it was bought largely by body-builders to stimulate
hormone growth - but more recently it had been gaining popularity as a
"recreational" drug offering a "pleasant, alcohol-like hangover-free high,
with potent prosexual effects".

Until 1989, scientists appeared to be agreed on the "benign" nature of the
drug. But by 1990, the FDA banned over-the-counter sales in the US. A year
later two scientists from the California Department of Health Services
reported 10 GBH-related poisonings and warned of the "tremendous potential
for misuse".

In Britain recently, drug abuse agencies have warned that GBH could be a
killer if taken with alcohol. The Manchester drugs advisory service,
Lifeline, is so concerned that it is producing a special GHB warning leaflet.

Mike Linnell, of Lifeline, said that the drug had become increasingly
popular in pockets around the country. "There are still a lot of unknown
factors concerning the drug. But there is no doubt that it can be a killer."

The effects:

Usually comes as clear, odourless liquid and sold from bottles for up to
£10 a capful. Because it is pre-mixed, users have no way of knowing the
strength of the drug.

Manufactured from industrial solvent and caustic soda, which is then turned
into powder.

Gives a sense of euphoria and stimulates libido, before inducing sedation.

Also popular with body builders as it stimulates growth hormones.

Also known as GBH because of unpredictable effects, ranging from severe
sickness to heart seizure, coma, and respiratory problems.

Widely associated with the death of film star River Phoenix in 1994 -
although he allegedly died from a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.