The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday said Gamma-Butyrolactone, a liquid Gamma-Butyrolactone is a liquid compound used as a solvent is now a dangerous drug.
Director General Aaron Aquino said the inclusion of GBL to the list of dangerous drugs was due to the passage by the Dangerous Drugs Board of Board Regulation No. 4, Series of 2019 with the subject “Inclusion of Gamma-Butyrolactone [GBL], and all Compounds, Mixtures, or Preparations Containing Any Quantity of the Same, by Whatever Official, Common or Usual Names, Chemical Name or Designated Brand Name, in the List of Dangerous Drugs.”
The directive would minimize the importation, exportation manufacture, sale and use of GBL, he said, adding “other countries, such as the United States of America, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, Italy, and Honking have also regulated this substance.”
On June 27, Board Regulation No. 4 was approved and adopted and took effect 15 days after its publication in two newspapers of general circulation and after its registration with the Office of the National Administrative Register of the University of the Philippines Law Center.
The chemical substance is being used as a solvent and sometimes is taken as a recreational drug being metabolized in the body producing an active substance called as Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate or GHB, a compound listed in the schedule II of the 1971 convention.
In the Philippines, GBL is being used as a “date-rape drug” with stronger doses that could cause sleepiness, confusion, and dizziness, making a person vulnerable to sexual assault, Aquino said.
“This is another leap in our pursuit to regulate the manufacture, sale and illicit use of this substance that may lead to addiction,” he noted. (RIO)
