DDB includes date-rape drug on dangerous drugs list

MANILA, Philippines — The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) has included gamma-butyrolactone in its list of dangerous drugs, an official said yesterday.

DDB chairman Secretary Catalino Cuy said they included gamma-butyrolactone or GBL, an odorless liquid which is used as recreational intoxicant with effects similar to barbiturates, in their list during their meeting last Thursday.

Cuy said GBL has been used as a date-rape drug, as strong doses of the substance can cause sleepiness, confusion and dizziness, which makes victims vulnerable to sexual assault.

“It is usually mixed with alcoholic drinks and is used during parties where intake of illegal drugs such as shabu and ecstasy,” he said in a statement.

The DDB also included in its list plants that may contain or are sources of substances listed in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1971 Single Convention on Psychotropic Substances and those classified by the agency as dangerous drugs.

Cuy said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation have been authorized to examine the presence in plants of drugs to be classified as dangerous drugs.