Legislature(1997 - 1998)
04/25/1997 08:30 AM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 163 - GAMMA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE AS CONTROLLED SUBST Number 0020 CHAIRMAN GREEN announced the first item on the agenda was HB 163, "An Act relating to designating gamma-Hydroxybutyrate as a schedule IVA controlled substance; and providing for an effective date." Number 0072 REPRESENTATIVE AL VEZEY, sponsor of HB 163, recommended that the state classify gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as gamma- Hydroxybutyric acid, as a schedule IVA controlled substance. He offered to go into detail. CHAIRMAN GREEN asked the common name of this substance and what it does. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY answered that street names include GHB, primarily, as well as Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Gamma and Ecstasy. Until 1990, it was available over the counter at health food stores across the country. Although selling it is illegal in the United States, possession only violates the law in Georgia and New Jersey, as well as possibly in California and Florida; the latter two states have either made possession illegal or are in the process of doing so. Number 0207 REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG asked whether placing it on the controlled substance list adds possession as an additional element. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY explained that HB 163, by listing GHB as a class IVA controlled substance, makes possession of it a serious crime. Possession of three grams would be a Class C felony. A typical dose for criminal assault purposes would be about four grams, as compared to a typical drug abuse dose of one to two grams. Number 0263 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG asked why there could not be a catch-all prohibition on these types of substances, which continue to be developed in laboratories across the United States. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY answered that there is a serious constitutional question about denying someone's freedom and/or property through the regulatory process. By enacting HB 163, the legislature could control the legality of possessing this substance; currently, no other law does so in Alaska. Number 0325 REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE asked whether typical abuse of this substance is administering it to others, creating a situation where a "date rape" could occur. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY said GHB is considered by law enforcement professionals to be the "date rape drug of choice" because of its effectiveness. It induces a deep sleep with a dose of about four grams. A heavy dosage will show up in a person's urine the first time they void their bladder after the dosage, but only through specialized testing. However, the second time they void their bladder, there may or may not be elevated traces of GHB. The third time, there will be no trace. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY said GHB is a natural substance metabolized by the body into carbon dioxide and water. A victim of a sexual assault where GHB was used would need the presence of mind to go to the police and report it prior to voiding their bladder. Number 0458 REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY explained that this has been one of the most complex subjects on which he has worked. This substance has definite pharmaceutical uses and is currently under investigation as possibly the sole promising drug to treat narcolepsy. If the state made it a controlled substance prior to its approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pharmacists would be criminals for selling it. However, Representative Vezey had checked with the Pharmacy Board and found they do not dispense GHB as a pharmaceutical agent. Number 0542 REPRESENTATIVE ETHAN BERKOWITZ asked whether HB 163 would preclude pharmacists from prescribing GHB. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY answered that doctors, not pharmacists, prescribe. Doctors cannot currently prescribe GHB, as it is not approved by the FDA. It is under what they call "investigational new drug status." A physician can get a license from the FDA to test it on patients, and there are currently a couple of hundred patients being treated for narcolepsy with this drug in the United States. Number 0587 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ mentioned that the committee recently passed a resolution encouraging the FDA to accelerate its processes. If the FDA determines that GHB has valid medical purposes, it seemed to him that HB 163 would preclude use of GHB in a medicinal fashion. Number 0603 REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY said no; typically schedule IA drugs are deemed to have no medical purpose, and doctors cannot prescribe them. However, schedule IIA, IIIA, IVA and VA drugs are deemed to have medical purposes, and it is not illegal to possess those drugs with authorization; the state accepts the FDA's criteria for dispensing those drugs. CHAIRMAN GREEN asked whether GHB could be made in a person's garage. REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY answered yes, and he clarified that part of the problem is that although it is not legally manufactured in the United States, it is easy to manufacture in a garage. It is made by combining butyryl lactone, a common industrial solvent, with a caustic such as sodium hydroxide or household drain cleaner. Number 0688 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG made a motion to move HB 163 with individual recommendations and the attached zero fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 163 moved from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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