Lawmakers push control of GHB

Known by such names as "liquid ecstasy," "lemons" and "easy lay," the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate has been implicated in at least five Michigan deaths - including that of LSA first-year student Courtney Cantor five months ago.

Now the dangers of GHB have attracted national attention, and several lawmakers are pushing to control its use.

Cantor, who died Oct. 16 after falling from her sixth-floor Mary Markley Residence Hall window, was found to have a blood-alcohol content of .059 and traces of GHB in her body, although investigators have not determined how the drug entered Cantor's system.

A hearing Thursday in the U.S. House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee heard testimony regarding federal scheduling of GHB as a controlled substance.

The Controlled Substances Act schedules drugs on a scale of 1 to 5 based on their harmful effects and medical applications. A Schedule I classification means a drug has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.

GHB is classified as a Schedule I substance in Michigan and 11 other states, said Felix Adatsi, supervisor of the Michigan State Police toxicology unit, who testified at the hearing. The federal government has yet to make GHB a controlled substance.

"Because the abuse potential is so great, it is time for them to control this substance," Adatsi said.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), who chairs the oversight subcommittee, agreed in his opening statements, saying, "Clearly, the status quo is entirely unacceptable."

Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) have proposed legislation addressing the need for GHB to be federally scheduled.

"I agree the Federal Government is not responding to this problem in an adequate fashion, but I believe much of that blame falls on the Congress," said Stupak, a committee member.

But while both Stupak and Jackson-Lee agree that GHB deserves to be a controlled substance, they disagree about how severely Congress should regulate it.

Jackson-Lee, who testified at Thursday's hearing, has introduced a resolution to the House that would make GHB a Schedule I substance in every state, putting it on par with drugs like LSD and marijuana.

Stupak last Wednesday introduced the Date Rape Prevention Act of 1999, which would designate GHB as a Schedule III drug, but attach penalties equal to a Schedule I classification.

Patti Engel, vice president of Orphan Medical, Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn., told the committee a Schedule I or II designation would pose a problem for her company.

Several years ago, the Food and Drug Administration asked Orphan Medical to develop a treatment for a symptom of narcolepsy known as cataplexy, said Engel, who testified at the hearing. Sufferers of cataplexy lose muscle control when they experience emotions, and a medicine derived from GHB helps them to function more normally, she added.

But if GHB is made a Schedule I or II drug, it could not be used to treat the disease - an undesirable solution to a situation Engel called "very unfortunate and very confusing."

"Narcoleptic patients should not go without the medium they need to live a normal life," Engel said. "We need to punish the criminals who use it and still make it available for medical use.

"We need to quickly schedule GHB in a way that does what we all want," Engel added.

Terrance Woodworth, deputy director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told the committee that in 1990, GHB was declared unsafe and illicit except for treating narcolepsy.

"Doctors do not prescribe it, pharmacists do not sell it and patients do not use it," Woodworth said, adding that teenagers are the primary users of GHB.

Woodworth added that 32 fatalities have been linked to GHB use since 1995, many times combined with the multiplying effects of alcohol.

Adatsi said GHB was originally used by body-builders and available at health stores. Once people started abusing the drug, it was pulled off shelves, he said.

But Engel said GHB is still easily obtainable via the Internet.

"For as little as $35, you can order a kit to make GHB at home," Engel said.

03-16-99