Another weekend, another drug with possible fatal consequences is growing in popularity – GBL. It’s colourless, odourless and is similar to GHB – the drug that was everywhere in the late 90s in the UK’s hard house clubs, used as a date rape drug and is basically, just bad news. Within the human body, GBL is quickly converted into the better known Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid and it’s effects are identical to it’s sister drug. It is extremely powerful, just 1ml of the chemical can be enough to cause intoxication which yes, does create euphoria and a loss of inhibitions – but deadly. April saw the most widely publicised fatality, an outstanding medical student Hester Stewart, only 21 from Brighton who, after a night out in her home town partying was found dead in her bed with a vial of GBL lying on her bedroom floor.
Her mother recently met with the Home Secretary in an attempt to have it banned.
“She was a stunning lady. Her summer job was going to be working with the blind in the local hospital. She touched so many people. When she died, we received letters from everyone – even from the key-cutting shop. They said when she came in, it made their day. She made people feel good about themselves. She was a light, a ball of light. I’m not saying Hester was an angel, I’m not saying she never tried anything – I don’t know – but she was a very intelligent and discerning young woman who loved life, and there is no way she would have compromised that. Mrs Stewart last saw Hester the night before the party for dinner at a restaurant. “We sat next to each other. It was just as well we did. We hugged and kissed and I told her how proud I was of her. It was the end of my world.”
Last year saw a massive use of GBL in gay clubs around the UK, now it seems it is going mainstream. So why is this killer still available over the counter or on the internet for as little as 50p a shot? Well, the fact that it is used in the chemical industry doesn’t help. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs estimate that around 1,000 tonnes of GBL are imported into Britain every year to make everything from plastics to nail varnish, paint stripper and rubber. America has already banned the sale for human consumption along with Canada and Sweden whilst France and Germany run regular poster campaigns warning clubbers. Hester’s family are still campaigning to ban the sale of GBL – but it’s not the only ‘legal high’ on the market. John Ramsey is a toxicologist at London’s St George’s Medical School and a leading expert in the field. He claims that Nitrous Oxide – laughing gas, has become huge at festivals and club’s alike. This is a drug normally used as propellant in whipped cream canisters, when inhaled you get a two minute buzz of giggles and euphoria. At Glastonbury last year, he saw the fields littered with capsules. And he fears of the ‘herbal stalls’ at such events…”The sachets used to contain just harmless herbs laced with loads of caffeine, now they are packed with a lots of chemicals that to be honest, have a very close feeling to Class A’s – brands such as Herbal E which contains BZP, an amphetemine like stimulant and Spice which was marketed as a smoking blend of herbs but tests have revealed it contains a synthetic derivative of cannabis that experts believe it could cause psychotic episodes, heart attacks and schizophrenia. A clubber from Nottingham, who back in the day, only took E’s but started to get freaked out after people around him started dying started taking GBL after a mate told him it was legal and safe. He soon became addicted, taking it every day – 50 shots at a time. Paul Grant is now seeing a drug counsellor after passing out outside a club and getting robbed. It’s all very frightening, the Government may well be banning GBL and similar drugs available easily in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, be careful out there…
