GHB, nicknamed “the date rape drug”, has been replaced by GBL. These products used by sexual aggressors, which have identical effects, are not without health risks. To avoid ingesting these molecules of chemical submission, Nantes students have developed a straw that would change color on contact with them.
- Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), is a chemical binding agent, which turns into GHB once ingested. Consumed in high doses, this molecule causes nausea, dizziness or drowsiness.
- GBL is on the list of monitored products because this industrial solvent is diverted from its main use to drug people without their knowledge.
- To protect your glass from malicious people and avoid ingesting these drugs, it is possible to use a straw, the hoop of which changes color on contact with GBL or GHB.
Deep sleep, dizziness, unconsciousness, euphoria, nausea… These different reactions are the effects of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), included on the list of monitored products. This molecule has replaced gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), an anesthetic more commonly known as “the rape drug”, which has similar effects. “The substitution of GHB by GBL is explained by its low cost and ease of access, despite the State’s ban on its transfer and sale to the general public in 2011, following cases of hospitalizations caused by ingestion of GBL”can we read in a report by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (Ofdt).
What is GBL?
According to the government, GBL is a viscous, toxic and colorless very acidic liquid, which is used as it is or mixed with other chemical products (solvents, strippers, etc.). It is a chemical precursor of GHB, ie once ingested, GBL is metabolized into GHB by the body. “On the other hand, due to faster absorption (i.e. passing through the blood), the effects appear more quickly than those of GHB (15 to 20 minutes) and last a little shorter. (about 1 to 2 hours)”, specifies the Ofdt.
A straw, the parade to avoid ingesting GLB and GHD
Like GHB, GBL has become a weapon for malicious people, especially sexual aggressors, who slip it into the glasses of their victims so that they ingest it. In recent weeks, many women have reported being drugged with these chemical submission molecules without their knowledge during evenings in bars. Their testimonies have multiplied under the hashtag #BalanceTonBar, launched in Belgium.
To reduce the risk of involuntary contamination of GBL and GHB, a group of Nantes students imagined an anti-drug straw. They explained to BFM TV, that the accumulation of testimonies gave them the idea of this project. The stainless steel straw, which allows “to be able to go to the evening with peace of mind”detects the presence of drugs thanks to a light yellow arc which would turn dark green on contact with these products. “We wanted to do something simple: an object that was not restrictive, discreet, easily transportable so that it could be used massively”, they said.
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