CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. Getting The Basics
2. Substance Abuse
3. Violence Against Women
4. Violent Men
5. Alcohol and Violence
6. Alcohol, Drugs and Sexual Assault (Date Rape)
7. Preventing Sexual Assault
8. After a Rape or Sexual Assault
9. Assistance - Women
10. Assistance - Men
11. Legal Options

Supplements
Resources
Glossary
Fact Sheets

It Won't Happen to Me:
Substance Abuse-Related Violence Against Women for Anyone Concerned About The Issues

Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate

Another drug used mainly in the youth culture is the club drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Street names include Liquid Ecstasy, Soap, Easy Lay, and Georgia Home Boy. Like Rohypnol, GHB makes unsuspecting victims feel and act drunk and very relaxed.

Before 1992, GHB was available over the counter in health food stores around the country. Bodybuilders used it to help in fat reduction and muscle building.¹ It became illegal in March 2000. The popularity of GHB has increased as young people take it to feel very happy, relaxed, and carefree.²

GHB is sometimes still sold in health food stores. It also can be bought at gyms, raves (after-midnight dance parties), and college campuses, as well as the Internet. In 1999, GHB accounted for almost one-third of all illicit drug-related poison center calls in Boston.¹

GHB's connection with date rapes has increased. It can be found in an odorless, colorless liquid form or as a white powdered material. It is taken by mouth and is sometimes mixed with alcohol. Like Rohypnol, when it is mixed in a woman's drink, she will not remember any earlier events.³

1. "Club Drugs." NIDA INFOFAX 13674. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2000.
2. Conference highlights increasing GHB abuse. NIDA Notes 2001, 16(2).
3. "Drug Facts: Club Drugs." Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2000.