POPULAR 'RAVE' DRUG, ALCOHOL DEADLY MIX

Officials Issue Warning

DENVER - It gives a feeling of euphoria. It can also cause seizures or stop
a person from breathing.

It's a drug found at "raves," all-night parties attended by young people.
Authorities are concerned because mixing it with alcohol could be fatal.

Its medical name is gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. Its street name is GHB, for
Georgia Home Boy or grievous bodily harm, and it's also known as liquid
ecstasy, g-riffick or organic quaalude.

Partygoers mix the drug with water or other liquids and pass it around,
police said. But doctors at Rocky Mountain Poison Center said if taken with
alcohol, it can cause seizures or respiratory spasms. Large doses cause a
loss of inhibitions or impulse control.

At worst, the drug can put the user into a trance-like state, said Greg
Bogden, chief of research at the Rocky Mountain Poison Center.

The drug is popular in Europe, where it's used as a sleep aid or, in larger
doses, as an anesthetic for surgery. Body builders first brought it to the
United States a few years ago, thinking it would release growth hormones.

Lt. Sam McGhee, commander of the Aurora Police vice and narcotics division,
said his officers are finding GHB about once a month. But Denver police and
the Adams County North Metro Drug Task Force have seen little of the drug.

"We usually don't see it unless someone has gotten into trouble with it,"
McGhee said.

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