After Grenoble, Nantes, Béziers, Rennes or even Toulouse, the case of night club shots continues to grow in France and increasingly worries the authorities. According to information from France Inter, more than 300 people have reportedly filed complaints for “administration of harmful substances” since the end of March. A figure that had exploded again in May, with 150 additional complaints identified in just one month.
Stings: what are the current affairs?
And during this Pentecost weekend, several cases have put these bites back in the heart of the news, which no longer only take place in night establishments. In Toulon, during the recording of a TF1 program on the Mourillon beach, twenty people claimed to have been victims of bites in the evening. This Sunday, June 5, seven medical examinations had been carried out and the results should be known next week. In Belfort, two young men and four young women aged 16 to 18 said “having felt pain, either in the arm or the hand, resembling a prick“while they were participating in the International University Music Festival. An investigation was opened. Finally, in the Gers, four people participating in the Pentecostavic feria in Vic-Fezensac filed a complaint and a suspect was placed in police custody. “Some have experienced nothing, others have been victims of discomfort. but we notice each time the presence of bites“, told AFP of the public prosecutor Jacques-Edouard Andrault.
These stings can be accompanied by dizziness, nausea or even discomfort. And what surprises the investigators is that the motivations of the “prickers” as well as the contents of the syringes often remain unknown : GHB was detected in only two cases, in Roanne and in the Eastern Pyrenees. Some bites would not even necessarily be caused by syringes, but by simple needles.
In case of suspicion of a bite, how to react? How to identify a GHB administration? What are the health risks ? We take stock.
GHB injection: how to recognize it?
In Grenoble, after at least seven complaints for stings in several night establishments in the city in April 2022, the victims indicated “to have felt a sting“, before feeling unwell. People receiving an injection of drugs also report headaches, fever, hot flashes, stomach aches or nausea.”The effects are felt 15 to 30 minutes after absorption and last about an hour“, indicates the site Drugs Info service.
Several victims also complained of red marks and pain at the injection siteas when administering a vaccine for example.
“This drug which puts the person to sleep and makes him lose his memory can be responsible for comas and lead to irremediable neurological and physical consequences.“, also indicates the site of prevention.
GHB injection: what are the health risks?
Administered at a low dose, GHB will have effects similar to taking alcohol such as disinhibition and a state of euphoria. But, mixed with alcohol, GHB will more quickly cause overdoses. An overdose can in particular cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, respiratory distress and loss of consciousness which can go as far as coma or death in severe intoxication.
If the drug was administered by syringe and the equipment is not sterile, the victim also has a risk of contracting HIV.
How to react in the event of a GHB injection?
In the event of a suspected GHB injection, it is important to react and carry out the tests as soon as possible. “GHB is detectable for 6 to 8 hours in blood and 8 to 12 hours in urine”says Théo Willeman, biologist and doctor of pharmacy at the institute of biology and pathology at the CHU Grenoble Alpes, to our colleagues from France 3.
He also advises “to file a complaint immediately after suspected administration so that the laboratory has the best possible chance of detecting GHB in the blood or urine“.
Anti-HIV screening can also be carried out in the emergency room and a preventive treatment post-exposure to HIV can be administered.
Source :
- Drug Info Service
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