Press Release

IOctober 21, 2004

PRESS RELEASE
Contact Info
Trinka Porrata, President
Project GHB
www.projectghb.org
626-577-5204

Project GHB “A Friend To Have" Award Recipients

Project GHB , a non-profit organization committed to preventing abuse, rape and death involving the drug gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) today announced the 2004 recipients for the “A Friend To Have Award.” This year's awards go to Rosemary Roberts for her Internet radio three-part series featuring GHB issues via www.thepatientsvoice.com , and to “ Lynn , “assistant manager for the Project GHB Addiction Message Board, for her efforts to help others through the maze of withdrawal and recovery from GHB addiction, following her own two-year active addiction to GHB.

To counter the prevailing myth that people overdosing on the drug gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) should be allowed to “just sleep it off,” Project GHB initiated the “A Friend To Have Award” honoring those
1--with the courage not to let friends or others die needlessly from this dangerous drug,
2--those who have escaped its addictive grip and taken time to help others, and
3--those who have contributed dramatically to GHB prevention/treatment issues.

Rosemary Roberts was nominated due to the three-part series she did early this year via her Internet Radio program, The Patient's Voice, www.thepatientsvoice.com , and her tireless efforts during Project GHB's battle to get a nail polish remover, Once Removed, a product containing gamma butyrolactone (GBL), an active analog of GHB, as its primary ingredient off the market.

Affectionately dubbed “OR” by its abusers, this product had become a primary source of GBL for numerous addicts nationwide and the cause of numerous overdoses in emergency rooms nationwide as well.

GBL converts to GHB rapidly in the human body, making it equal to GHB in terms of abuse potential. GBL is a legitimate industrial chemical (a paint stripping chemical) that is simply unnecessary in any over-the-counter product such as nail polish remover.

Efforts are underway to prevent further products of this type from surfacing in the “legitimate” consumer market.

Families in crisis in several states were battling for the very lives of their loved ones, addicted to GHB and relying heavily on pharmacies in their communities for OR to feed their addiction.

Once family spent $26,000 in addiction detoxification and rehabilitation on their son, only to have him take his first moment out of treatment to buy OR in a pharmacy, consume some and crash his car.

The three-part series covered a wide array of issues, from over the counter product abuse to GHB rape/addiction/death, and other drugs as well. The series is still available to be heard via the “past programs” link on her site.

Project GHB is a non-profit organization with limited volunteer staffing time.

Roberts assisted Project GHB's efforts through her investigative efforts to identify companies responding to our call to remove the item and those ignoring our efforts. Ultimately Walgreens, Brooks and others removed the product once they learned about the problem and the company producing it reformulated it, eliminating the key ingredient of concern.

The new bottles have been tested to assure compliance and will be tested periodically. Of course, several bottles of the original product continued to be sold on Ebay at double the price for awhile.

Rosemary Roberts is the founder of GirlOnPoint© , a creative services firm specializing in custom medical and business content for education, advertising and marketing efforts.