Pubdate: Sat, 29 Apr 2000
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053
Fax: (213) 237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Forum: http://www.latimes.com/home/discuss/
Author: Sue Doyle

GHB A DANGEROUS DRINKING PARTNER

*Authorities say this week's raid on a Lakewood lab in no way solves the
increasing problem of GHB use.

NEWPORT BEACH -- A liquid drug that swings with some nightclub crowds has
gained popularity in another place -- the emergency room.

The combination of GHB -- which is usually sold by the capful for about
$5 -- when mixed with alcohol can make a deadly drink. The two drugs have
such sedative effects that when combined, a person can stop breathing and
even have seizures, said Daniel Headrick, director of the chemical
dependency center at Hoag Hospital.

Newport Beach police this week raided a Lakewood drug lab and arrested two
suspects for manufacturing and distributing gammahydroxybutrate, or GHB.

Police hope the bust will plug up one of the city's main GHB suppliers. But
authorities say this week's bust in no way means the end of the dangerous
drug, which they say is appearing more and more in the Newport Beach
nightclub scene.

Although overdoses of GHB are on the rise, alcohol remains the top drug for
addiction, Headrick said. "People mix [GHB] with alcohol. It doesn't take
much GHB to get them off-balance. Then people black out and don't remember
things," Headrick said.

>From inside the addiction center, Headrick says it's hard to say if major
GHB abuse derives from rave parties and nightclubs. Typically, users are
younger than 40. Many are fairly successful people in their 30s.

Police officials report more and more calls for GHB overdoses. Users can
pour it in a water bottle, where it looks inconspicuous, said Newport Beach
police Sgt. Mike McDermott.

Headrick recalls one addict who was pursuing a biochemistrydoctorate degree.
The man used GHB in small quantities for many years, but then became
trapped.

"He was a smart guy. Just not smarter than the drug," Headrick said.

Many people try to find a perfect combination of drugs, where one is a
sedative and the other is an upper. Mixing the two can prolong drug use,
instead of building a tolerance to just one, Headrick said.

"The upper and downer mixture is also more addictive," Headrick said. "Those
people have a lot more healing to do in their brains."

Headrick said a common myth that GHB is simply "liquid ecstasy" couldn't be
further from the truth -- one is a downer while the other is a stimulant.

The only similar thing about GHB and ecstasy is that they both cause a
person's sense of touch and feeling to be distorted, he said.

McDermott recalls one case involving a man who was thrashing around and
nearly ended up comatose. He had consumed two capfuls of GHB mixed with a
tablet of ecstasy.

But some people use GHB to harm others.

The memory loss associated with GHB is what has caused the substance to
sometimes be labeled the "date rape" drug. It is those cases, because the
person consuming GHB is doing so unsuspectingly, that are seen more and more
in the emergency room, Headrick said.

"With GHB, your memory doesn't work. You can walk and talk and not know what
happened," Headrick said.
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