GBL | Overview
Overview
GBL is a toxic, or poisonous, chemical that is powerful enough to dissolve glue and kill weeds. Sold as a clear liquid or a light-colored powder, it can be very irritating to the skin and mucous membranes when handled improperly. It is a synthetic chemical, meaning that it is made in a laboratory. GBL acts as a depressant in humans and is not meant to be swallowed. During the 1990s, however, GBL became a popular club drug.
The GBL-GHB Connection
The story of GBL's rise as a drug of abuse is tied to the history of another compound called gamma hydroxybutyrate (GAMM-uh hy-DROK-see-BYOO-tuh-rate) or GHB. (A separate entry on GHB is available in this encyclopedia.) GHB is found in very small amounts in the human body and is thought to act as a neurotransmitterA substance that helps spread nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another. in the brain. In the 1960s, it was first synthesized in a laboratory for use as an anesthetic, which is a substance used to deaden pain. In the 1980s, GHB became popular among bodybuilders, who believed it could release a hormone that would stimulate muscle growth. In November 1990, after investigating nearly sixty reports of GHB-linked illnesses, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered an end to sales of GHB-containing products. The agency declared that GHB was unsafe and illegal except for carefully controlled FDA-approved drug research.
When products containing GHB became unavailable, users looked for a replacement. They found it in GBL supplements. Once GBL is ingested, the body rapidly converts it into GHB. "[T]he effects become identical to that of taking regular GHB," explained M. Foster Olive in Designer Drugs. GBL was sold in fitness centers and health food stores as a dietary supplement. Dietary supplements do not have to undergo the kind of rigorous testing required for over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs. That is because the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 treats supplements as foods rather than drugs.
From Dietary Supplement to Party Drug to Date Rape Drug
Throughout the 1990s, advertisements for GBL supplements appeared in bodybuilding magazines under names such as Blue Nitro, Firewater, GH Revitalizer, Invigorate, Jolt, ReActive, REMForce, RenewTrient, Revivarant, and Verve. (Note that all of these supplements have since been removed from the market.) Manufacturers of GBL supplements claimed their products would build muscles, improve physical and sexual performance, combat depression, reduce stress, and relieve insomnia, a sleeping disorder.
In time, word got around that GBL was a great "party drug" because it helped release the inhibitionsInner thoughts that keep people from engaging in certain activities. of the user. Soon, people were taking it just to get high. Along with that high, however, came the risk of harmful and life-threatening side effects, including breathing difficulties, vomiting, and seizures. Use could lead to coma—a state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused by noise or other stimuli—and even death.
By the late 1990s, reports started appearing about GBL and GHB being used as "date rape" drugs. Because they are odorless and colorless, it is hard to tell when these substances have been added to a drink. Both drugs are strong enough to knock someone out, even in small doses. They also cause memory loss in the victim, often preventing identification of the attacker.
On January 21, 1999, the FDA asked manufacturers to recall their GBL-containing products and issued press releases warning consumers not to take them. The warning was issued in response to more than fifty-five reports of GBL-related illnesses and a report of one death. The Trimfast Group, Inc. agreed to recall its products, Revivarant and Revivarant G, and most other companies followed suit. It took years before the FDA was able to classify dietary supplements containing GBL as unapproved drugs. As of 2005, it was illegal to sell anything for human consumption that contained GBL or GHB.
Because of the deadly effects associated with GBL and GHB consumption, "forensicThe scientific analysis of physical evidence. scientists are being called upon to determine the role of these compounds in overdose and sexual assault cases with increasing frequency," wrote Carl S. Hornfeldt and his coauthors in a 2002 article in Forensic Science Communications. To help people know if their drinks are free of "date rape" substances, various companies have created testing kits that can be used quickly before the beverage is consumed.