Written by Alexandra Marie Ertiani
INVESTIGATION. The editorial staff of France 3 Rhône-Alpes, alerted by several health professionals and associations, managed in 36 hours to have the equivalent of 250 doses of GBL delivered, a stripper misused for its aphrodisiac effects. Our objective: to demonstrate that it is too easy to obtain it and to prevent risks among an increasingly young public.
Ethan is 26 years old. We met him a year ago, in the Le Griffon community sexual health center in Lyon, after an addiction treatment appointment. Lost, he had just experienced a period of three years, immersed in excessive partying and drug use that he could no longer control. Several lost jobs, complicated relationships…he was visibly exhausted but had taken steps to try to resurface. The acceleration of drug taking for him came through Chem’s evenings, meaning Chemsex, an English contraction of Chemicals sexuality, sexuality under drugs.
A search for pleasure and escape boosted by chemical substances designed to develop libido, sensations and sexual performance.
“What I find distressing is that I come across people who are younger and younger. They are 17, 18, 19 years old and they have known nothing else. I don’t want to demonize or preach, but I I think we need to be at least aware of the risks and I catch a lot of people who don’t take the necessary precautions.”
Among the products used in parties, GBL is very popular. A liquid that is drunk in fruit juice, and a few drops can provide a euphoric effect, a milliliter brings you into a state of intense disinhibition and a milliliter too much can cause a coma or even kill the person who ingests it.
“We keep notebooks, where we write down our consumption explains Ethan, we set alarms to remember the last catch”because these evenings can last several days and several nights, and the drug taking is therefore repeated.
Ethan’s story is chilling when he says he once had one dose too many and woke up 18 hours later in a hospital bed being extubated. Last January, a 35-year-old man died in his apartment following a chemsex evening in Lyon. A tragedy brought to the attention of the general public but this is rarely the case. It is therefore difficult to have precise figures. Ethan has just learned that three men he encountered in recent months in the evenings died in these conditions.
“There are too many deaths, and at the same time we know the risks but we continue. I do not want to demonize because I also take pleasure in it, I do not want to be hypocritical, but there is a minimum of precaution to take”.
This is also the opinion of Dr Philippe Lack, head of department at CSAPA (Center for Supportive Care and Prevention in Addictology) from the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon. “We must give precise information without giving instructions” he explains in a logic of risk reduction. No more than 1ml per dose, several hours between doses, no association with other products, especially no alcohol, do not drive, each person has their own drink…
“There is also the question of looking out for others. Someone can go into cardiac arrest without anyone realizing it. There are deaths in very varied circumstances and we should be able to analyze them. More precise data is needed. This product creates physical dependence and withdrawal must be accompanied.”
The person who uses GBL puts their life in danger and may be exposed to the risk of assault or rape.
Dr Philippe Lack, head of the Addictology Center at the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon
In GBL, the molecule that is of particular interest to consumers is GHB, which is more difficult to find because it is classified in the list of narcotics. GBL, once ingested, transforms into GHB and therefore provides the same effects. This is a powerful automobile stripper whose sale is prohibited to individuals in France beyond a concentration of 10% in the same container.
But during the discussions we had with several users, associations and health professionals, everyone agreed that this product is easy to obtain. To verify this, we decided to try to obtain some and found that several shopping sites based in particular in the Netherlands and Germany make it easy to obtain them. Sites which present themselves as industry or automotive professionals, and which offer quantities of up to 5 or 10 liters.
With a budget of 70 euros, transport included, we ordered 250 ml of product delivered in 36 hours to the editorial office. The equivalent of 250 doses. In addition to accessibility, this product is much cheaper than all the others and therefore attracts an increasingly young audience.
“We were recently contacted by college nurses in Auvergne” explains Steve Mudry, responsible for addiction prevention at Enipse, a risk reduction association. “Young people have made references to practices and products linked to chemsex.”
Users of this type of product can be seen at any addiction center near them, several reference associations, such as Enispe, or Aides offer free and anonymous consultations. “The important thing is to get out of isolation” explains Dr Philippe Lack. “We can do lots of things for patients. Those who ask for care progress well.” Physical, psychological balance, sexuality and risk of STDs constitute for an increasingly wide public a real public health problem on which several associations are warning and asking for more means to act.
To demonstrate the disconcerting ease with which it is possible to buy GBL, we obtained some but once the demonstration was completed the product was placed in the recycling center
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© France TV /Alexandra MARIE ERTIANI
Editor’s note: the GBL that we purchased to carry out this investigation was placed in the recycling center in the areas reserved for toxic and dangerous products.
