"Date Rape Drug" Act Approved

WASHINGTON--The "Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act" passed the House on Jan. 31. The House approval was a direct mandate for the Justice Department to place the drug gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

The approval also placed GBL, a precursor substance to GHB, with the List I chemicals. In addition, ketamine, another substance implicated in date-rape cases, will be classified as a schedule III controlled substance.

The bill was introduced to the House and Senate in 1999, but was detained because GHB is currently being tested as a treatment for narcolepsy. The final form of the bill clearly separates legitimate use of GHB [as in narcolepsy research and other medical uses] from illegal use. Illegal use of GHB will be subject to Schedule I penalties.