Federal control of two compounds that have been used as "date rape" drugs would tighten under legislation passed Tuesday by the House.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., would amend the Controlled Substances Act to place gamma hydroxybutyric acid, a central nervous system depressant also known as GHB, on a list of drugs that are the most strictly regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act because of their danger.
Ketamine, an animal tranquilizer, would be listed, but at a lower level of restrictions.
"Perhaps as many as 90 kids have died in the past couple of years because of these drugs," Upton said during debate on the House floor. "This is a nightmare that needs to end."
The bill passed 423-1. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was the lone dissenter.
GHB also is known as "G," "Liquid X," "Liquid Ecstasy," "Grievous Bodily Harm," "Georgia Home Boy," and "Scoop," the bill said.
A person who drinks a soda laced with a few drops of GHB _ which is colorless and odorless _ can lose consciousness within 20 minutes. Victims frequently have no memory of what happened, and the drug is difficult to trace, often leaving the body within 24 hours.
"This drug, GHB, has been used in innumerable rapes across the country," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, a cosponsor. "Without this bill, the illicit use of GHB would increase dramatically."
The bill would make it illegal to possess GHB with the intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense it, with a maximum prison term of 20 years for a first offense. Exceptions would be made for GHB clinical studies approved by the Food and Drug Administration to determine if the drug helps with medical problems such as narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder.
The bill has been named the Hillory J. Farias Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act, after a 17-year-old La Porte, Texas, girl who died in August 1996 after someone slipped GHB into her soft drink at a nightclub.
Lawmakers have not yet acted on similar legislation introduced in the Senate.
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The bill is H.R. 2130.
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