Officials advise government to upgrade GHB to a Class B drug 12/3/2020 Governance and Assurance GHB, a substance notoriously exploited by criminals, should be reclassified to a Class B drug according to The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD conducted the review after several high-profile cases of murderers and rapists using the drug to sedate their victims. Currently, GHB is a Class C drug, the same as anabolic steroids and some tranquilisers. Although some campaigners had requested that the drug be a Class A substance, the ACMD has advised ministers to upgrade the drug into Class B, where it would be alongside speed and cannabis. GHB and its related substances, known as GHBRS substances, are used for medicinal purposes, and the ACMD stated that the reclassification of the drug could “avoid further stigmatisation” for those who are prescribed it as a medical treatment. However, the ACDM advised the reclassification as incidents of death associated with GHB drugs had been increasing since their last review of the drug in 2003. Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, chair of the ACMD, said: “Given the evidence of significant harms across different contexts, the ACMD have today made a broad set of recommendations on monitoring, legislation, prevention and treatment, which should be taken forward as a whole to reduce harms associated with GHBRS.” Iodem’s Medical Director, Maurice Hawthorne, welcomed the recommendations made by the ACMD. He said: “It appears likely that the Government will implement these recommendations in light of the increasing popularity of GHB and GHBRS, both recreationally and in criminal activities.” He continued: “As the ACMD report shows evidence of the drug becoming a more prominent substance issue, it is essential that a thorough government review is carried out. Whenever a system faces an area of evolving difficulty, which impacts public safety, a prompt review is needed to improve the governance and legislature around the issue.”