What Is GBL and Why Is It Being Regulated Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)?
GBL is gamma-butyrolactone, the precursor used in the clandestine production of the Schedule I controlled substance gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). Since 1990, DEA has documented over 15,600 overdoses and law enforcement encounters in 46 states with GHB. DEA has documented 71 GHB-related deaths. The GHB obtained in the vast majority of these encounters is by conversion of GBL. GBL was placed in the CSA as a List I chemical effective February 18, 2000, by enactment of Pub. L. 106-172, the “Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Prohibition Act of 1999” (65 FR 21645, April 24, 2000). That law, however, did not establish a threshold. As a result of the law not establishing a threshold, all transactions in GBL are regulated transactions as described in 21 CFR 1300.02(b)(28). DEA has identified the source for illicit GHB as being clandestinely synthesized from GBL. Law enforcement agencies have encountered GHB on at least 1,700 occasions, including more than 180 clandestine laborat
Related Questions
- The CSA Provides a Personal Use Exemption for Controlled Substances Purchased Abroad. Does the Exemption Apply to Controlled Substances Bought from a Foreign Internet Site?
- The Justice Department asserts that hoasca is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. What is UDVs response to this?
- What Is GBL and Why Is It Being Regulated Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)?