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PLEASE
CHECK YOUR LOCAL STORES FOR THIS
PRODUCT!
(Download
Once Removed info sheet to read and distribute. Choose:
Word Format or
HTML Format)
Once Removed nail polish remover (pink liquid) is of growing
concern, as it is being consumed all over the country by GHB
addicts. They are drinking it straight up!!! Please read the
Project GHB letter about this problem and consider checking out your
local stores, such as Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Savon, etc., etc.
If they have Once Removed on their shelves, please give them a copy
of the attached letter and perhaps also a copy of the GHB Fact
Sheet. You may find that it is most helpful to talk to the store
pharmacist where there is one. The letter also addresses possible
other products with the primary ingredient of butyrolactone or gamma
butyrolactone, which are usually nail polish removers or contact
cement or super glue removers. There are a few paint strippers too
with that as the primary ingredient.
Project GHB did
not issue a formal press release because we are hesitant to go
“public” about it. I don't want to alert other addicts and any
rapists who aren't already aware of this, but we must do
something!If reporters do pick up on it, well, so be it! I had
HOPED to do this quietly through the corporate offices and
individual stores. Walgreens did respond promptly to our request and
has taken the product off of their website where it was on sale.
Mothers of some of the addiction cases have also already contacted
corporate offices, local stores, etc., making immediate action a
necessity. There are families in crisis and this product is the key
source at the moment. I am requesting that no one make further
contact with the manufacturer of this product. That has been done
by one mother (as she had every right to do!) but I think it is best
focus on public accessibility for now. I have no idea whether or
not they were aware of the problem before. We have no comment or
information as to the intent or prior knowledge of the company to
this problem. Assuming no ill intent, it is our hope that they will
reformulate the product and eliminate the problem.
Some addicts are
using this just as a temporary fix until their order arrives from
other sources, but some are using it as their sole/primary source.
We also realize that if this product is taken off the shelves,
additional addicts will be in need of detox treatment. But some who
are really trying to stop find it hard to do so with it calling to
them from the shelf at nearby stores!!! Consider also copying our
GHB Fact Sheet and GHB Addiction Fact Sheet to distribute with the
letter. And, we do have a detox protocol that can be emailed or
faxed to anyone needing it to give to local treatment centers and
emergency rooms. It is also available on the Texas Commission on
Alcohol and Drug Addiction website at
http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/research/populations/GHB_Withdrawal.pdf
Initiating the publication and posting of this protocol was a
tremendous service from TCADA.
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PROJECT GHB BALL CAPS, T-SHIRTS & POLOS
Go to the complete store.
Polos, T-shirts and caps in purple with the Project GHB logo are now
available through our website store! They are nice quality and help
spread the word about our efforts! T-shirts and polos can be ordered
in S-XXL sizes (mention size in your order)
- T-shirts--$16
- Polos--$25
- Caps--$12
Also, if you haven’t downloaded the
$12 Power Point program “Recognizing GHB, MDMA & Ketamine,”
please do so and encourage others to do so! It’s a great way to
spread the information and it enables us to do more to get the
message out there. Every little bit helps. We have no major funding
and could do so much more with a little help. We will be adding MDMA
(Ecstasy) brochures hopefully in the near future as pre-printed,
like our GHB brochures. Project GHB needs your donations to make
this information available to as many as possible. Funding for
printing and postage are truly essential.
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Go to the complete store.
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GHB IN SOUTH AFRICA—NOT A SMALL ISSUE
Several years ago, a chemical company in South Africa was a
primary source of GHB internationally. Ironically, their website
said that they would ship to the USA and UK but didn’t sell it in
their own country as they considered it dangerous. They later
claimed that they would no longer ship to the USA. Now we hear that
South Africa indeed has a problem with recreational abuse of GHB.
Recently Project GHB received this Feedback Form inquiry:
“To whom it may concern, I have found your site very
interesting, but did notice that there is no information on the
GHB situation in South Africa. South Africa has a roaring party
scene and GHB is on the up-and-coming in clubs and at larger
dance events. This seems to be particularly true in the gay-club
scene where it is becoming routine to see guys carried off the
dance floor by friends half unconscious. More and more people I
speak to seem to be heading towards GHB use, and I know of one
friend which claims he took too much and passed out for over
five hours.
Something I thought you might find very interesting, last night
I went clubbing and decided to ask a couple people what they had
taken – if anything. All 12 people I asked had taken some form
of drug - eight had taken GHB!”
Project GHB will be supplying some educational materials for S.
Africa in the hopes of making a difference in this risk-taking
scenario.
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WHY YOU DON’T SEE FOWKES & DEAN FEATURED ON THIS SITE
By Trinka Porrata
We periodically
get inquiries as to why we don’t feature information from Steven
Fowkes and Dr. Ward Dean on our website, as with the inquiry
below. It is perhaps time to respond.
First—I’ll let
you read the latest inquiry:
From:
DalePatterson@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 9:55 PM
To: Project GHB
(((His email was a response
to a prior article about the UK scheduling GHB))) I'm not
surprised to hear this. They did the same thing to LSD once the
kids got a hold of it. LSD psychotherapy, when done under
controlled conditions and professional auspices, has an
excellent clinical track record for a wide variety of disorders,
especially alcoholism. This all well-documented.
In case you are unaware, the
FDA recently approved the use of GHB for narcolepsy and
associated cataplexy. And prior to the misuse and bad press GHB
has received, a number of pharmeceutical companies had filed 15
investigational new drug (IND) reports to the FDA, covering
applications such as sleep- disturbance, anxiety disorders,
reducing schizophrenic and Parkinson symptoms, decreased pain
and improved sleep in fibromyalgia, decreasing drug withdrawal
symtoms from alcohol and opiates, improving memory problems,
relieving symptoms of Huntington's chorea, stimulating natural
growth hormone release, lowering cholesteral and several others.
These IND's are very
expensive to produce and it is doubtful that major
pharmaceutical companies would invest so heavily in a drug that
is "all bad and totally dangerous."
GHB has been demonized as a
result of its irresponsible use.
For a more balanced and
positive review of GHB, read GHB: The Natural Mood Enhancer: The
Authoritative Guide to its Responsible Use, by Ward Dean, M.D.,
John Morgenthaler and Steven William Fowkes (also the authors of
Smart Drugs and Nutrients and Smart Drugs II.
Dale Patterson, M.S., C.A.C.B.,
CPPS, BCIAC-EEG-Associate Fellow
BCIAC-Senior Fellow
Clinical/Executive Director
Biofeedback & Alternative Medicine Centers
My reply:
I am well
aware of Fowkes/Dean and well aware of the FDA’s approval of GHB
(marketed as Xyrem, aka sodium oxybate) for the rare combination
of narcolepsy with cataplexy (not for narcolepsy alone). I
testified at the FDA hearing and personally believe it was a
mistake for the drug to be approved, at least without being
specifically excluded from the “off label use” policy as
recommended by the FDA’s own evaluation committee. I truly
realize the limited resources available to those with
narcolepsy/cataplexy, but this drug is of grave concern. As
for the 15 Investigative New Drug (IND) reports he references,
virtually all were disproved or abandoned, so the “weight” of
the number is not signficant.
Fowkes and
Dean have created an “aura” of expertise on GHB via the Internet
and their book, but are not affiliated with the extensive new
research projects grant funded by the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, for example, or to my knowledge with any other key
research projects in recent years. Their statements are a
mixture of some truth with some things that we now know are
either inaccurate or incomplete or are exclusive of new
knowledge. I have heard their testimony in various cases and
have read their works. I do not consider their book or websites
to be resources that we need. We work with the top researchers
on this issue nationwide/internationally and consider their
works to be of the most importance. We work with experts who
are published in recognized peer review journals. These
researchers and front line clinicians are working on diverse
GHB-related issues such as 1) the extremely rare disease in
which some humans naturally produce excess levels of GHB and
live in a virtual state of GHB overdose; 2) issues of improved
testing for GHB/analogs in hair, body fluids and products, 3)
GHB overdose treatment, 4) GHB addiction/withdrawal treatment
and rehab, 4) drug facilitated sexual assault prevention,
response, evidence collection and prosecution, etc. We are
interested in the most accurate, properly documented, up to the
minute information available, not rehashes of the old and
inaccurate.
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Inquiry: Re Board Member
Backgrounds & Addiction Representation On The Board
The following is from input to our GHB FEEDBACK
FORM. We thought we should share it and our reply.
Submitted by Denovo on Thursday, November 27,
2003 at 13:20:21
Comments: Why are there no board members
mentioned or currently serving, that have gone through the
addiction personally. Do you have any recovering addicts serving
on the board, people who've actually been through the pain that
accompanies addiction, withdrawal, and recovery?? If you don't,
I think you should include those individuals.
Our Reply:
The website was created by a family who lost a
son to GHB. Three of the five board members currently serving
have lost someone to the drug GHB in various ways (from
voluntary to involuntary ingestion). One son was deeply addicted
to GHB and eventually committed suicide, unable to escape from
it. The board members have traditionally been people who have
donated incredible amounts of time to ALL of the issues
surrounding GHB, from overdose and voluntary use to addiction
and sexual assault and death. We have operated without
significant funding (money goes into education and distribution
of literature, etc.), thus it is all volunteer time given.
Incorporated as a nonprofit, there were only five positions
originally created because that's all who were so deeply
involved at the time. Recently we have talked about the
possibility of expanding the number of board members. It
involves some paperwork but nothing impossible to do. As for the
pain of the addiction and recovery, Diane certainly knows about
that, having gone through it with her son. John works daily with
those addicted to any and all drugs and has personally
experienced the tragedy of drug addiction, though not GHB. I
work daily with dozens of addicts and their families and loved
ones. I certainly know the pain they are all going through, from
those who have succeeded in escaping it to those who have not
yet and are still actively using GHB to those families who are
coping with the loss of someone who didn't make it. We also work
closely with several doctors who have seen it first hand and who
have donated incredible amounts of time to helping with GHB
addiction, plus other issues. Coming forward and admitting
publicly to being a GHB addict is very difficult. Many are still
struggling and/or trying to go on with their lives. Public
knowledge of their addiction could be harmful to their jobs or
efforts to find new jobs. That's why we are soooooo very
thankful to those who have been willing to talk to the public,
like the Young family in Washington who were featured on the
Dateline show in June. Airing your heartbreak and struggle on
national TV was not an easy thing to do. Others have talked on
shows for us like EXTRA and several local or regional TV
segments. Their contributions are invaluable to bringing
awareness to this issue. Many have lost everything in terms of
finances, family ties, jobs, etc., and don't have time to donate
to the issues; they are seeking to put their lives back together
and that's the most important thing they can do.
We created "state teams" so that people who
wanted to get involved could do so and give as much or as little
time as they can. It is going well as more and more teams are
created. Some are very active. Some whose personal issues
involved being victimized by GHB are also very actively involved
in bringing about awareness on the addiction issues.
Being a board member doesn't involve any
specific time commitments, but does require being rather
"public" with one's losses or issues. Your heart is on the line
serving on a board like this. Through the years there have been
some bizarre threats to people involved in trying to stop the
spread of GHB abuse. Frankly, anyone who truly wants to be
involved can indeed write to us about wanting to be a board
member and we would consider doing the paperwork to expand the
board.
NOTE: We are just now about to post the
committee for the next GHB conference (September 2004 in Las
Vegas). The committee members are an awesome array of
disciplines and experience. It is hoped that their involvement
will help bring about increased awareness, training
improvements, better response to rape issues in terms of
prosecution, testing, etc., better treatment for those addicted
to GHB, etc. We have done a lot but realize there is a long way
to go to make GHB addiction treatment common knowledge in the
medical world. Anyone interested in helping with conference
planning, promotion, donation of items or services, etc., are
welcome to join us.
Trinka
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Name: Mark Fratzke, MAC, CSAC
State: HI
Comments: Great presentation at this year's NAADAC the
Association for Addiction Professionals' Annual Meeting in DC. It
motivated me to check out your website and learn more about this
nasty compound.
Thank you,
Mark Fratzke, MAC CSAC
President: Hawai'i Association of Addiction and Drug Abuse
Counselors
http://www.cchono.com/~fratzke
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