Legal Status
In the United States, it was placed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in March 2000. However, when sold as Xyrem, it is considered a Schedule III substance but with Schedule I trafficking penalties, one of several drugs that are listed in multiple schedules. On 20 March 2001, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs placed GHB in Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In the UK it was made a class C drug in June 2003.
In Hong Kong, GHB is regulated under Schedule 1 of Hong Kong's Chapter 134 Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. It can only be used legally by health professionals and for university research purposes. The substance can be given by pharmacists under a prescription. Anyone who supplies the substance without prescription can be fined HK$10000. The penalty for trafficking or manufacturing the substance is a HK$150,000 fine and life imprisonment. Possession of the substance for consumption without license from the Department of Health is illegal with a HK$100,000 fine and/or 5 years of jail time.
In New Zealand and Australia, GHB, 1,4-B and GBL are all Class B illegal drugs, along with any possible esters, ethers and aldehydes. GABA itself is also listed as an illegal drug in these jurisdictions, which seems unusual given its failure to cross the blood–brain barrier, but there was a perception among legislators that all known analogues should be covered as far as this was possible. Attempts to circumvent the illegal status of GHB have led to the sale of derivatives such as 4-methyl-GHB (gamma-hydroxyvaleric acid, GHV) and its prodrug form gamma-valerolactone (GVL), but these are also covered under the law by virtue of their being "substantially similar" to GHB or GBL and; so importation, sale, possession and use of these compounds is also considered to be illegal.
In Chile, GHB is a controlled drug under the law "Ley de substancias psicotropicas y estupefacientes" (psychotropic substances and narcotics).
In Norway and in Switzerland, GHB is considered a narcotic and is only available by prescription under the trade name Xyrem (Union Chimique Belge S.A.).
Xyrem (Alcover) is also used therapeutically in Italy for treatment of alcohol withdrawal and dependence.
Read more about this topic: gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid
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