RT Book, Section
A1 Dyer, Jo Ellen
A2 Olson, Kent R.
A2 Anderson, Ilene B.
A2 Benowitz, Neal L.
A2 Blanc, Paul D.
A2 Clark, Richard F.
A2 Kearney, Thomas E.
A2 Kim-Katz, Susan Y.
A2 Wu, Alan H. B.
SR Print(0)
ID 1179991496
T1 GAMMA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE (GHB)
T2 Poisoning & Drug Overdose, 7e
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071839792
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1179991496
RD 2024/04/25
AB Gamma-hydroxybutyrate  (GHB)  originally  was  investigated  as  an  anesthetic  agent  during  the  1960s  but  was  abandoned  because  of  side  effects  including  myoclonus  and  emergence  delirium.  In  2002,  it  was  approved  by  the  FDA  as  a  treatment  for  cataplexy  and  in  2005  for  excessive  daytime  sleepiness  in  patients  with  narcolepsy.  For  abuse  purposes,  GHB  is  readily  available  through  the  illicit  drug  market  and  can  be  made  in  home  laboratories  by  using  recipes  posted  on  the  Internet.  As  a  result  of  increasing  abuse,  GHB  without  a  legitimate  prescription  is  regulated  as  a  Schedule  I  substance.  Chemical  precursors  that  are  converted  to  GHB  in  the  body,  including  gamma-butyrolactone  (GBL)  and  1,4-butanediol  (1,4-BD),  are  also  regulated  as  Schedule  I  analogs  (when  intended  for  human  consumption).  These  chemicals  often  are  sold  under  constantly  changing  product  names  with  intentionally  obscure  chemical  synonyms  (Table  II–30),  and  to  avoid  the  legal  consequences  of  selling  an  analog  intended  for  human  consumption,  they  may  be  sold  as  a  cleaner,  paint  stripper,  nail  polish  remover,  or  solvent,  labeled  "not  for  ingestion."