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SATI e-News: October 9, 2002
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DEA Closes
Down GHB Online Dealers |
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The Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) arrested 115 individuals in 84 cities last month for
selling GHB and its derivatives over the Internet. The arrests
followed a two-year multi-jurisdictional investigation requiring
the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies within the
U.S. and Canada, according to the DEA.
Classified as a Schedule I drug in March 2000, GHB is best known
as a
“rape drug” which perpetrators sometimes use to incapacitate
their victims. But GHB is also widely used recreationally and
for purported benefits as a sleep aid, workout aid,
anti-depressant, anti-aging substance, and sexual enhancer.
What's more, research has confirmed that addiction is
increasingly associated with GHB use, and that unsupervised
withdrawal is highly dangerous and life-threatening.
Because GHB leaves the system quickly and no adequate field test
exists
to test for the presence of GHB and its analogs, an unknown
number of
sexual assault, drunk driving, death and even possession cases
are never investigated. This makes it all the more important to
cut off the drug at the dealer level.
While the DEA action might present a challenge for rapists,
those who take the drug recreationally—and are convinced that
GHB is an innocuous substance—are at significant risk, as they
may have unknowingly become
addicted to the drug. These individuals may not be prepared for
the physical symptoms brought on by sudden withdrawal from GHB.
Project GHB, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising
awareness about the dangers of GHB and its analogues, warned
that “cold turkey” withdrawal from GHB is highly dangerous and
considered life endangering. For more information about GHB
addiction research, intervention or medically supervised
withdrawal, see
www.projectghb.org or write to
trinka@projectghb.org.
Sources:
DEA:
www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr091802p.html
“Adverse Events, Including Death, Associated with the Use of 1,4
Butanediol,” Vol. 344 No. 2, January 11, 2001, New England
Journal of
Medicine. |
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