I'd say that's a good idea. Via BBC News:
Gamma-butyrolactone and 1,4 butanediol are available in cleaning fluids and industrial solvents, but when swallowed together they turn into GHB.Scientific advisors have suggested these were increasingly becoming "a legal substitute" for GHB and may have been used in sexual attacks.
The chemical industry will be consulted before any change to the law is made.
GHB is already banned in the UK due to the prevalence of its usage for sexual assault but the separate chemicals are not as of yet. A number of kids were hospitalized last year when the ingredients were found in the toy "Aquadots" and - like little kids tend to do with toys - they ate them.
Picture via BBC.
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Banning drugs has never stopped people from using them before, what makes you think it will work now? The war on drugs is a war on minorities. Thanks to selective enforcement of the drug laws, black men, especially poor ones, are over-represented in prison. I have to give a thumbs down to anything that supports it.
There is also no reason to believe that banning these chemicals will stop people from getting access to them. Marijuana is illegal and it's incredibly easy to get. Just order it online! The only thing that these drug laws have accomplished is to make a whole lot of criminals rich.
Gamma-butyrolactone and 1,4 butanediol cannot be grown. If the chemical companies stop making them all together then they will not be available for use, unlike marijuana.
Yeah, just like LSD and MDMA. There's no way anyone could get their hands on it if it were illegal. GHB's not all that complicated a chemical to produce from legal substrates at any rate. Even if these two compounds were eliminated from the market. However, making things illegal does make them much harder to come by. Cocaine isn't in CocaCola anymore, is it?
Agree with TanyaD for her reasons and more. GHB is just one drug in an entire class all of which have similar effects. Criminals will simply shift to another one. It is a feel good legislation with effects that are going to be felt only by people at the lower end of society.
TanyaD is soooo spot-on.
the problem is that we live in a society that glorifies violence and hatred against women. Banning date rape drugs don't help at all.
ugh.
You are all right, banning this drug won't change anything. The epidemic and widespread use of 'date rape drugs' is a myth debunked by researchers in the UK. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-436592/Drug-rape-myth-exposed-study-reveals-binge-drinking-blame.html shows the article that talks about the UK study.
This ban of chemicals just sends the message to fan the flames of hysteria and fear. Instead of empowering women the message is, "Run, be afraid! If you are not terrified and on your guard at all times you will raped and violated! Be afraid!"
I actually really don't like the term "date-rape drug" because it seems to take the focus of responsibility from the rapist to a substance. After all, it's not the drug that commits the act, it's the person. My friend Melissa and I came up with the term "substance-facilitated rape" to emphasize that while the drug plays a role, it's only assisting and its harm can only be put into effect by someone consciously using it to violate someone else. Here is a PDF file of a pamphlet I made (back when I worked with my counselors at college) on how to prevent GHB overdose and potential rape.
http://leshengliu.com/PDF%20GHB%20Pamphlet.pdf
But wouldn't banning these chemicals at least make it more difficult to get? I understand people thinking that this isn't the end-all-be-all solution, but why do some of you seem actually mad about it?
Question: does anyone know if these are used for legit purposes where there are no substitutes? I make my own soap, and lye has become harder to find and purchase thanks to meth labs, and the difficulties extend to those who make pretzels, cure olives, or prepare hominy at home as well. If lye were to be banned, I'd be out of luck for good soap and money.