Drugs invade local night life

Web posted April 16, 2000

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 Doctors, activists battle over GHB

By Johnny Edwards
Staff Writer

``GHB-heads'' nearly ran Time PieceZ owner Jamie Long out of business, he said.

They were a clique of young adults who wore baggy pants, had a fancy for glow sticks and liked being in crowded bars, he said. They didn't buy drinks because they were happy to chew gum, drink water and vegetate on the sofas and chairs of the nightclub at 730 Broad St.

Aside from the loose talk, he said he knew they were using gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, GHB, because he regularly found empty Kool-Aid measuring scoops, which can be used as containers for the colorless fluid, in the bathroom trash cans. Sometimes the party-goers would foam at the mouth or collapse on the dance floor with eyelids fluttering, he said.

Getting rid of them was as easy as replacing techno music with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and KC and the Sunshine Band, and imposing a cover charge.

``That couch used to be lined with people drooling on themselves,'' Mr. Long said. ``Now I've got paying customers here.''

Illicit use of GHB is seeping into Augusta's night life, according to police and health officials, although not to the degree of already saturated metropolitan centers. Not far away in Atlanta, nightclubs such as Backstreet Atlanta have signs posted on walls threatening to prosecute anyone found with the substance, a backlash against ``too many people G-ing out,'' according to a floor manager.

Narcotics and vice investigators say no GHB arrests have been made in Richmond, Columbia or Aiken counties. In Augusta, a much bigger problem has been MDMA, or ``ecstasy'' pills, said Richmond County Investigator Allan Rollins. Since January 1999, eight ecstasy arrests have been made; in 1998 there were none, he said.

``I have a funny feeling they go hand in hand,'' Investigator Rollins said of ecstasy and GHB, also known as ``Liquid Ecstasy.''

Much of the police intelligence gathered on local GHB amounts to ``rumors and whispers,'' he said -- here an overdose, there a girl passing out at a bar and not remembering anything. Part of the problem in nabbing users is that GHB is very easy to hide. It looks like water and is converted in the body into water and carbon dioxide. It is untraceable after about 12 hours.

``It's just one of those things that's hard to get unless you catch them in the act,'' Investigator Rollins said.

Lt. Jack Francisco, who handles rape cases, said he can't recall any case that involved a GHB drink-spiking. However, while she declined to give exact numbers or specifics, Prevention Specialist Kim Nichols of University Hospital's Rape Crisis Center says it's going on more and more, especially among high school and college-age parties.

As with many rapes, the girls probably aren't reporting the episodes to authorities after receiving medical treatment, she said. Along with Rohypnol, or ``roofies,'' GHB is the most commonly used date rape tool, a statement she says is based on blood work and urinalyses of victims.

In the typical scenario, a victim of sexual assault arrives in the emergency room saying she awoke with her clothes removed after being in a bar or apartment. ``The key indicator is that they can't remember anything,'' Ms. Nichols said.

At least two confirmed cases of GHB overdoses have been reported by Medical College of Georgia Hospital emergency room physicians in the past year, said Dr. Larry Mellick, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine. One was a man in his early 20s who was brought in by a group of friends, he said. The friends told doctors he had rapidly slipped into a coma after taking the drug at a party.

The other confirmed case stemmed from a similar situation. Two young men had taken GHB at a party and were driving home. At some point, the driver realized his friend had passed out and stopped breathing. He pulled over and dialed 911, Dr. Mellick said.

Both overdose victims were placed in intensive care units on ventilators, eventually sleeping it off, Dr. Mellick said.

``The danger is that it can interfere with their breathing, and they can die if they stop breathing,'' Dr. Mellick said of GHB victims. ``But if you assist them with that, they metabolize it and wake up saying, `Where was I?'''

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225.