Five poisoned by 'web DIY' drug (updated 5/2/2006)

Five poisoned by 'web DIY' drug

BBC News
3 March 2006

A 19-year-old man attempted to make the date rape drug GHB after reading a "recipe" on the internet.

David John Platt, from Johnstown, Wrexham, actually made a toxic form of drain cleaner in error, Mold Crown Court was told.

Platt stopped breathing after taking the liquid and was resuscitated. Four other people were hospitalised.

Platt admitted trying to unlawfully make the class C drug. He was remanded in custody and sentence was adjourned.

The court was told that the defendant and one of the other men who took the substance became unconscious and stopped breathing. Another man who took it became extremely ill and his wife temporarily lost the use of her legs.

Brett Williams, prosecuting, said: "The defendant would have succeeded in what he had intended to make if he had added household bleach.

"This is a very nasty substance," he added.

Judge Gareth Edwards QC was told how Platt searched the internet for a GHB recipe after watching a TV programme about the date rape drug.

The judge called for websites that published the information to be closed down.

"As far as sites like that are concerned, there must be some regulatory procedures for closing them down," he said.

"I can only say I hope that those who have control over these sites will do so."

Andrew Jebb, defending, said the chemical had not been surreptitiously administered by his client in any way. His client insisted that the two men had asked to try it.

"He had no malice. He took the substance himself. He had no idea of the side effects it would have," said Mr Jebb.

The judge agreed to adjourn the case for a pre-sentence report but warned that all sentencing options including custody would remain open.

He told the defendant: "I think it is best that you are kept somewhere where you cannot get you hands on stuff like that."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4772338.stm

that would be such a bad situation for that guy
not only did he almost kill himself and his friends, but he's being prosecuted for falling for an internet mistake.

i agree with that guys lawyer. he voluntarily ingested it, something any right minded individual would not do if they thought the substance to be toxic. and the only reason he got caught is because of the life threatening situation they found themselves in. terrible

Yeah that really sucks. The guy is kinda stupid for even attempting to make GHB without much knowledge of what he was doing, but he shouldn't be prosecuted for it.

He told the defendant: "I think it is best that you are kept somewhere where you cannot get you hands on stuff like that."

Click to expand...

I guess the judge is talking about prison?

What the hell? It's not like the guy is gonna try making GHB again after nearly killing himself. No way does he deserve to go to jail for this.

I wonder what would have happened if he had actually suceeded in making GHB (without incident) but got caught supplying it to his friends?

This was no Gbl - Ghb conversion? Because if it was he must have been stupid to do it wrong. I wonder why he didn't look for more sources so he could verify that the procedure was correct.

i have never seen a correct recipe for drugs on television .the most common one I see is for meth which is usually downplayed and involves the mentioning of dangerous chemicals which, if actually used to make ANYTHING, would be deadly.

Besides a complicated synthesis from (i'm assuming) GABA, I doubt there would be a simple 'OTC' or 'DIY' way to make GHB without GBL.

But how can you get a gbl --> ghb conversion wrong? Unless what they mean by "actually made a toxic form of drain cleaner in error" is that he simply did his molar calculations incorrectly and ended up with a lot of unreacted NaOH?

He's a fuckin' retard and a risk to his fellow man. Throw the book at him he could have killed several people. There is misadveture then there is total complete utter fuckin' stupidity.

Add bleach ... fuck it that a euphemism for Sodium Hydroxide or what.
Harm minimisation tell everyone bleach would have made it safe ... FFs idiots!

Brett Williams, prosecuting, said: "The defendant would have succeeded in what he had intended to make if he had added household bleach.

Click to expand...

you'd never guess from this article that the end result would have been nontoxic and is present in everybody's body and has intoxicating effects similar to everyone's favorite drink (without the liver/brain damage or hangover)

you'd also never guess that ghb is used as a date rape drug in maybe <2% of date rapes

what is wrong with the media?

No. The reaction he would have been attempting to do is the conversion of THF (Tetrahydrofuran) into GBL. This proceeds with the addition of a hypochlorite (like household bleach) to THF.

I don't know how you'd screw that up. Regardless, he did .

you can turn THF into gbl? new one to me. even so, its strange that he saw this on TV..

it was a web DIY, as in he googled it

RollinJ said:

it was a web DIY, as in he googled it

Click to expand...

"Platt searched the internet for a GHB recipe after watching a TV programme about the date rape drug."

my bad, i had originally miss-read this sentence.

He most likely fed himself and his friends THF. Read the effects that apparently ensued.

A person could not unknowingly ingest NaOH thinking it was GHB. You would have to be a moron to do so with THF, but it dosen't sound like this guy was mensa.

Dumbass...

Sounds like he was trying to make Choral Butyrate or however you spell it, that's related to GHB but can be made from bleach and is apparently a piece of piss to make!

It seems that everyone has their own opinion about the ending procedures of making GHB. Anyway, this guy is a dumbass for not only attempting to make GHB without the knowledge, and then testing it on himself, and friends, without having a clue what would happen. I love the media though Fucking bastards

Gaz, you are confusing chlorobutanol, which is synthed using a hypochlorite bleach as one of the precursors, and chloral hydrate, which is produced by directly chlorinating anhydrous ethanol.

LOL. the guy lives in the UK and had to MAKE GHB?


LOL indeed.

guy who posted the recipe is going to hell

DIY date rape drug man detained

BBC News
2 May 2006

A man who tried to make the date rape drug GHB using an internet recipe has been sentenced to youth detention for 16 months.

David Platt, 20, from Wrexham, admitted trying to make Gammahydroxybutyrate - a class C drug - in his kitchen.

But Mold Crown Court heard he ended up making drain cleaner instead.

The court was told Platt - who never intended to use the drug on women - was lucky to be alive after he and friends drank the poison while they were drunk.

Platt became interested in GHB after watching a television documentary which highlighted the fact DIY recipes were readily available on the internet, the court heard.

He then downloaded a step-by-step guide and tried to make the drug in his kitchen.

Defending Andrew Jebb said: "This defendant had seen a television programme which was seeking to expose how dangerous it is to have this information available on the internet.

"But in exposing the danger, it allowed the defendant to gain the knowledge of where to go and look and find this information.

"He then chose to go and look for the information and downloaded it."

Household bleach

Platt had wanted to create a drug with a similar effect to ecstasy.

But he missed out a vital ingredient - bleach - which meant he ended up producing a form of industrial-strength drain cleaner.

He then nearly killed himself and three friends when they drank the poison.

Platt stopped breathing and was rushed to Wrexham Maelor Hospital after he and a friend drank four glasses each.

The friend ended up in a coma while his wife, who also drank a glass, temporarily lost the ability to walk. Another man also needed hospital treatment after becoming seriously ill.

The court heard Platt still needed daily medical attention.

Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told him: "Your intention was to make, it seems for yourself, a drug which you expected to produce effects similar to ecstasy.

"The risk though was very serious and the physical consequences are only too apparent from what happened to you and to others.

"It is important that I should recognise that the prosecution accept that you did not attempt to produce a drug with any intention to overcome any other person for any sinister purpose."

Platt admitted trying to unlawfully make GHB in July last year. He was sentenced to 16 months youth detention.

Defending, Andrew Jebb said: "The defendant would have succeeded in what he had intended to make if he had added household bleach,"

"This defendant stopped short of making the full product.

"He has no chemical training and he had no idea that what he had produced was in itself an extremely dangerous product, the key components of industrial drain cleaner."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4964510.stm