WORST NIGHTMARE

For Teens, It's Not GHB; It's Booze

The GHB fad sweeping the nation during the last five years has now arrived
here, with Portland police and emergency workers reporting no fewer than 10
overdoses from the club drug during one recent weekend.

Just what worried parents need: another threat to their children.

Statistically, though, GHB, Ecstasy and other stylish drugs are still far
from the greatest menace in the lives of our young people. For that, kids
need go no farther than the home liquor cabinet or the local convenience store.

Club drugs are cheap and have the reputation among teens and
twentysomethings of being completely safe, unlike heroin, cocaine or
methamphetamine.

By all accounts, that reputation is undeserved. GHB, or
gamma-hydroxybutyrate, was sold as an anaesthetic, weight-loss drug, libido
enhancer and strength builder before being designated a federal Schedule 1
controlled substance, illegal in all circumstances. But its ingredients are
still sold as commercial solvents, and GHB is said to be easily obtainable
via the Internet and on the streets.

The euphoric glow that GHB induces in its users has a nightmarish side:
amnesia, unconsciousness, agitation, confusion, seizures and the need for
ever-higher doses, which in turn can cause dependence and, in those who
quit, withdrawal symptoms that can include anxiety, insomnia, delirium and
severe psychosis.

With a resume like that, no wonder GHB is considered a threat. But the list
of health effects from alcohol abuse is almost identical.

And more kids drink. A report out this week from the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University said almost one-third
of all high-schoolers say they binge drink -- consume four or five or more
drinks in a row -- at least once a month. The center also asserted that
underage drinkers consume 25 percent of all the alcoholic beverages in
United States.

There's reason to doubt both statistics. Teens are notorious for
exaggerating their own behaviors, even on anonymous surveys. The federal
government places the share of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers at
closer to 11 percent, not 25 percent -- and the center on Wednesday backed
away from the latter figure.

Yet there's little doubt that, compared to virtually any other drug,
alcohol is easier for teens to get and, because its consumption is legal
for those older than 21, carries less stigma. More than the club drug fad,
that's what parents should worry about.