It is a version of GHB, a sedative that can be abused and has been used in date rapes.

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"Date-rape" drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB - a liquid ecstasy - can cause victims to lose their memory.

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Abusers have been making the substance, known as GHB, since long before Xyrem was ever approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

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According to the ONS data, in 2010 there were more helium deaths than cannabis, ecstasy, mephedrone and GHB related deaths put together.

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In May this year, a west Wales man who admitted sexually assaulting a woman he had drugged with GHB was jailed for ten years.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | South West Wales | Date rape drug hotspot warning

Traces of alcohol and a chemical matching the party drug GHB were found, but both can occur naturally as part of the decomposition process, she said.

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However Mike McCabe, consultant in accident and emergency medicine at Swansea's Morriston Hospital, said victims of GHB and other such drugs suffered emotionally in addition to the physical damage.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | South West Wales | Date rape drug hotspot warning

The test card, marketed by Tetra Scene of Crime in Billericay, contains a chemical which reacts to Ketamine and GHB, which police say are the most commonly used drugs.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Essex | DIY test for spiked drinks

When Orphan Medical, which was later bought by Jazz, filed its new drug application with the FDA, the street drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) was in the news as a date-rape potion and drug of abuse.

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