(What will Zippy do now for if he gets caught using Liquid Ecstacy he will
be gone forever......)
Campaigners Welcome Ban on 'Date Rape' Drug
By Sherna Noah and David Barrett, PA News
Date-rape drug GHB will be outlawed from midnight tonight, the Government
has announced.
Dealers will face up to five years in jail and possession will carry a
sentence of up to two years as the anaesthetic becomes a Class C drug.
The move was backed by The Roofie Foundation - the street name for the pills
is "roofies" - which runs a drug-rape helpline.
Chief executive Graham Rhodes said: "We welcome any action that will give
the police more tools in their armoury to combat the drug rapist.
"Around 5,500 people have called us to say they have been the victim of drug
rape since we started the helpline about eight years ago.
"People have been getting away with using this drug for long enough.
Hopefully this will help us to fight this crime."
Drugs information charity Drugscope also welcomed the change in the law.
Director Frank Warburton said: "GHB is a harmful drug. We welcome this
decision as a measure which restricts its supply and gives the police powers
of arrest for possession, particularly when associated with date rape."
But he said it would not provide all the answers to the problem.
"There is still likely to be a level of illegal use. It's very important
that other measures are put in place to raise awareness about the drug."
Home Office minister Caroline Flint announced that seven other substances
would be banned at the same time, including two opiates, which are being
placed on the Class A list alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) had recognised that GHB -
gammahydroxybutrate - was being "widely misused and has harmful effects".
The minister said: "GHB has been used in numerous drug-assisted rapes and
sexual assaults.
"By introducing jail terms for its possession and increasing them for supply
we hope to help prevent the most despicable of crimes.
"It's very important that we get the message across to clubbers that this is
a dangerous drug.
"People can pass out after just a few drops in an alcoholic drink, and an
overdose could result in a coma."
But campaign group Women Against Rape said the decision was unlikely to
"make any substantial difference on the ground".
GHB is also nicknamed GBH and liquid Ecstasy by users. Other street names
for the drug include fantasy, soap, goop, Georgia Home Boy, Organic
Quaaludes, Blue Juice, Get Horny Balls and Gammo-O.
Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, recaptured by a bounty hunter in Mexico this
month, was convicted of rape and jailed for 124 years in California after
being convicted of using GHB in multiple rapes.
Luster, 39, the great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor, took three
women to his home between 1996 and 2000 and raped them after giving them the
drug.
The ban follows recent calls from prosecutors following the death of
Geraldine Greeney, 32, who was found dead at her home in Polbeth, West
Lothian, after overdosing on the drug.
It is usually sold in liquid form - a 30ml plastic bottle costs about £15 -
but can also be bought as a powder.
It is currently not illegal to possess GHB but unlicensed supply can be an
offence under the Medicines Act.
In small doses GHB acts as an "upper" but in larger doses the anaesthetic
effect takes hold and can lead to respiratory problems.
It is potentially lethal when mixed with other substances, particularly
alcohol.
The seven other drugs which will also become controlled substances are:
Remifentanil and Dihydroetrophine - powerful opiates with similar
pharmacological properties to existing Class A drugs, which become Class A.
Zolpidem - a prescription medicine which acts in the same way as sedatives
such as benzodiazepines and which becomes a Class C drug.
Four anabolic steroids - 4-Androstene-3,17-dione; 19-Nor-4-Androstene-3,
17-dione; 5-Androstene-3, 17-diol; 19-Nor-5-Androstene-3,17-diol - have
recently been added to the International Olympic Committee's list of
prohibited substances and will become Class C drugs.
(What will Zippy do now for if he gets caught using Liquid Ecstacy he will
be gone forever......)
Campaigners Welcome Ban on 'Date Rape' Drug
By Sherna Noah and David Barrett, PA News
Date-rape drug GHB will be outlawed from midnight tonight, the Government
has announced.
Dealers will face up to five years in jail and possession will carry a
sentence of up to two years as the anaesthetic becomes a Class C drug.
The move was backed by The Roofie Foundation - the street name for the pills
is "roofies" - which runs a drug-rape helpline.
Chief executive Graham Rhodes said: "We welcome any action that will give
the police more tools in their armoury to combat the drug rapist.
"Around 5,500 people have called us to say they have been the victim of drug
rape since we started the helpline about eight years ago.
"People have been getting away with using this drug for long enough.
Hopefully this will help us to fight this crime."
Drugs information charity Drugscope also welcomed the change in the law.
Director Frank Warburton said: "GHB is a harmful drug. We welcome this
decision as a measure which restricts its supply and gives the police powers
of arrest for possession, particularly when associated with date rape."
But he said it would not provide all the answers to the problem.
"There is still likely to be a level of illegal use. It's very important
that other measures are put in place to raise awareness about the drug."
Home Office minister Caroline Flint announced that seven other substances
would be banned at the same time, including two opiates, which are being
placed on the Class A list alongside heroin and crack cocaine.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) had recognised that GHB -
gammahydroxybutrate - was being "widely misused and has harmful effects".
The minister said: "GHB has been used in numerous drug-assisted rapes and
sexual assaults.
"By introducing jail terms for its possession and increasing them for supply
we hope to help prevent the most despicable of crimes.
"It's very important that we get the message across to clubbers that this is
a dangerous drug.
"People can pass out after just a few drops in an alcoholic drink, and an
overdose could result in a coma."
But campaign group Women Against Rape said the decision was unlikely to
"make any substantial difference on the ground".
GHB is also nicknamed GBH and liquid Ecstasy by users. Other street names
for the drug include fantasy, soap, goop, Georgia Home Boy, Organic
Quaaludes, Blue Juice, Get Horny Balls and Gammo-O.
Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, recaptured by a bounty hunter in Mexico this
month, was convicted of rape and jailed for 124 years in California after
being convicted of using GHB in multiple rapes.
Luster, 39, the great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor, took three
women to his home between 1996 and 2000 and raped them after giving them the
drug.
The ban follows recent calls from prosecutors following the death of
Geraldine Greeney, 32, who was found dead at her home in Polbeth, West
Lothian, after overdosing on the drug.
It is usually sold in liquid form - a 30ml plastic bottle costs about £15 -
but can also be bought as a powder.
It is currently not illegal to possess GHB but unlicensed supply can be an
offence under the Medicines Act.
In small doses GHB acts as an "upper" but in larger doses the anaesthetic
effect takes hold and can lead to respiratory problems.
It is potentially lethal when mixed with other substances, particularly
alcohol.
The seven other drugs which will also become controlled substances are:
Remifentanil and Dihydroetrophine - powerful opiates with similar
pharmacological properties to existing Class A drugs, which become Class A.
Zolpidem - a prescription medicine which acts in the same way as sedatives
such as benzodiazepines and which becomes a Class C drug.
Four anabolic steroids - 4-Androstene-3,17-dione; 19-Nor-4-Androstene-3,
17-dione; 5-Androstene-3, 17-diol; 19-Nor-5-Androstene-3,17-diol - have
recently been added to the International Olympic Committee's list of
prohibited substances and will become Class C drugs.