Gamma-hydroxybutyrate date rape

Figure 1.1 The easiest place that a perpetrator can begin to carry out a date rape is at a crowded party or bar. An unsuspecting victim can easily have a drug slipped into his or her drink. The Date Rape Drug Spotter is a cardboard drink coaster that can identify two of the most popular date rape drugs gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and ketamine.

Narcolepsy is a rare disease characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. It has a prevalence of 0.05% in the general population and affects an estimated 140,000 people in the United States. In 2002, the FDA approved sodium oxybate (Xyrem ) for the treatment of cataplexy in patients with narcolepsy. The active ingredient in this drug is gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. The development and marketing of sodium oxybate was permitted after a revision of the Date Rape Prevention Act of 2000 (see Chapter 5) that allowed GHB to be legally administered for medical purposes. 

The use of an illegal party drug that is also used as a date-rape" drug has risen in recent years. GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is a hallucinogen that causes intoxication and incapacitation. 

Advertisement and easily available products have caused an increase in the problem of fraudulent products and consumer injury. Certain products such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) and GLB (gamma butyrolactone), were both sold as sleep aids or relaxers , better known as date rape drugs. Both of these products have caused death in some cases, but are still on the market as a dietary supplement. 

Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), a potent rapid-onset benzodiazepine with marked amnestic properties, has been used in date rape. Added to alcoholic beverages, chloral hydrate or gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) will render the victim incapable of resisting rape. 

Flunitrazepam fits part of the description of this date rape drug, but it is not chemically related to known neurotransmitters. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB Liquid ecsta.sy ), a popular street drug, is structurally related to GABA. GHB causes amnesia and in overdose has resulted in seizures, coma, and death. Metcathinone (khat, Cat ) is a natural plant alkaloid with CNS-stimulating properties similar to those of amphetamine. The answer is (C). 

A potential concern with the hydroxybutyrates has to do with the use of one member of the series as an illieit drug. So-called gamma-butyrate, 4-hydroxybutyric aeid, is the infamous date-rape drug, which has caused fatalities to victims who have ingested it with spiked drinks. 

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