Pubdate: March 1, 1999
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Contact:  414-224-8280
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Forum: http://www.jsonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimate.cgi
Copyright: 1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Author: Lisa Sink of the Journal Sentinel staff 

MADISON MEN ACCUSED OF SELLING CRANK-LIKE DRUG TO DETECTIVE

Waukesha -- Saying "chicks only need one dose," a Madison man
allegedly sold an undercover detective a homemade drug similar to
crank that the man said he concocted with cleaning solvents from a
recipe on the Internet, authorities said.

The drug, a depressant known as gamma-hydroxy butyric acid, or GHB,
may be a date-rape drug and was dubbed "Gator Aid" by its alleged
creator in reference to its yellow liquid form, Assistant District
Attorney Kevin Osborne said.

Waukesha County drug enforcement agents arrested Ryan W. Schweitzer,
25, and Michael L. Haight, 26, both of Madison, on Thursday at a
Delafield restaurant near I-94 and Highway 83.

There, an undercover detective gave Schweitzer $4,100 in exchange for
40 ounces of the crank-like liquid drug and 200 hits of another drug
commonly known as Ecstasy, according to a criminal complaint.

Osborne said police do not know whether the men intended for the GHB
to be used as a date-rape drug. Other than Schweitzer's alleged
comment about dosage, no remark was made to link the drug with date
rape, Osborne said.

"It may be a date-rape drug -- it is a sedative," Osborne said.
"Ecstasy has the reputation for lowering a person's inhibitions, but
it doesn't pass you out."

According to the criminal complaint, the drug deal on Thursday came
after an earlier deal on Dec. 17 in which the same undercover agent
met with Schweitzer in Brookfield and paid $1,500 for a half-gallon of
GHB and 50 hits of Ecstasy.

After being arrested Thursday, Schweitzer allegedly told detectives
how he made the crank-like drug from a recipe he found on the
Internet, Osborne said. "He told the cops the recipe, the cleaning
solvents . . . and how you boil and cool it and then boil and cool it
again," Osborne alleged.

Schweitzer allegedly told police that he was "making up the drug in
his apartment and bottling it up himself and selling it," Osborne said.

The price to the undercover detective was about $8 an ounce. The
liquid was in 20-ounce soft drink bottles and a plastic apple juice
container.

Osborne said he finds it hard to believe that people purchase and
ingest substances containing cleaning solvents.

"They take ingredients that your average person would know can kill
you and they mix it up," he said of some people. "If I gave it
(solvents) to you and told you to drink it, you would say, 'Are you
out of your mind?' "

Schweitzer told the undercover agent that he obtained the Ecstasy
amphetamine pills from Madison, Toronto and San Francisco, the
complaint says. He allegedly sold the capsules for $20 to $25 each.

Schweitzer, who has no criminal record, was charged Friday with three
counts of delivery of a controlled substance.

Haight, who has convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and
disorderly conduct, was charged with one count of delivery of a
controlled substance.

The complaint says Schweitzer was involved in the Dec. 17 and Feb. 25
transactions. Haight allegedly was connected to only the Feb. 25 incident.

Conviction on each felony count carries a maximum penalty of five
years in prison.

Schweitzer and Haight were jailed in lieu of $7,000 and $5,000 bail,
respectively. 

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