Other - Chinese-Made Beads Turn Into "Date-Rape" Drugs When Ingested

[llamer]

The chemical reactions must primarily involve HCl, right? not too many other significant chemicals in the guts (mostly enzymes and stuff, I believe). But TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. the comments below the primary article indicate possible alternate sources of this "toy."

Reputation Comments on this post:

Interesting article, lets see how it develops.

[MrG]

Hah! Another "reefer madness" style "but what about the children" pile of journalistic crap.

"The beads should contain a non-toxic glue but instead contain the chemical which the body metabolises into gamma-hydroxy butyrate (GHB), also known as fantasy or Grievous Bodily Harm."

Ok, for starters none of the stories I have googled for actually state what this "chemical" is because it isn't actually GHB, it is "the chemical which the body metabolises into GHB".

Leaving aside the infuriatingly ridiculous "street slang" they keep using in these reports (as if anyone would try and score by asking for "Grevious Bodily Harm" FFS!, typical lazy ass journo's trying to hype their non-story), can anyone find what the actual chemical they are talking about is?

It may be GBL, as it is used in many types of plastic manufacturing, but I don't see how liquid GBL itself could be "on or in" this toy without it having been converted into some sort of plastic polymer and thus unlikely to still resemble GBL.

[radiometer]

^^ They probably picked the name out from their file of previous news stories or something. It's too bad that stupid media people ignorantly or willfully promulgate these ridiculous names, but I came to expect very little from them in the technical, "fact-based" milieu many years ago. To Joe Public it only would seem natural that this scary, scary drug which only a loser junky would use be named "grevious bodily harm." Hell, that's what it does, right? Things are only going to get worse, there is less and less oversight of what is presented as "fact" by the media every day. Hell, just proofreading they can't even get right anymore. I read egregious writing errors almost every day in the SF Chronicle, and even from time to time in the WSJ. Check out this site - http://www.regrettheerror.com/ - a funny read I think, and an insight into how poor modern reporting is.

Wacky story, though. Interesting find, though short on facts as usual.

[ted_sa]

I work in a store that sells these and had to pull them all off of the shelves yesterday!

According to this report they contained 1,4-butanediol.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Thanks for contributing to the thread in a helpful way. And welcome to the forum!

[MrG]

Ohhhh, I see. Well hey, it's no worse and probably a whole lot better than the lead based paint we used to get on our toys as kids. 1,4-butanediol being in this product seems to have been a mistake anyway because, according to that report, it should have been 1,5-pentanediol.

It's a mistake certainly, but one that justifies all the breast-beating and alarmist horror stories?! - No.

Put it this way, if they had said that the substance converted into a compound used to help Narcoleptics get quality sleep at night it wouldn't quite have carried the same fear factor now would it?

[Euphoric]

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/...ez-safety.html

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 7, 2007 | 9:27 AM ET

Australian officials have issued a ban of the sale of toys found to contain a powerful chemical that metabolizes into a potent date rape drug when consumed.


Three children who swallowed beads from Bindeez toys have been treated in hospital over the past 10 days. Side effects of ingesting the chemical compound include unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
Minister for Fair Trading Linda Burney announced a ban on the products Tuesday.


"The Children's Hospital at Westmead has undertaken tests on the ingested beads and found they contained a potentially harmful chemical called 1,4-butanediol," Burney said in a release.


"According to the product description, Bindeez should contain 1,5-pentanediol which is non-toxic and used in glue."


Burney urged parents take away from children the Bindeez products, imported by Moose Enterprise Pty. Ltd.


Moose Enterprise announced it was recalling the products from the marketplace Tuesday.


"The company's products, which are manufactured by internationally approved toy manufacturers in China, are subject to world standard independent testing," the company said.


"Moose Enterprise has not experienced any safety concerns with its products since the company was purchased by its current management team six years ago."

[Jatelka]

Also posted in GHB here...

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...highlight=toys

[Euphoric]

I searched entire posts for "moose enterprise" and nothing came up!!!

Oh, but I just looked at your link and see why. In that thread there's just a link to the story.

Should I have done something differently?

[ted_sa]

Hahaha. Definately. All the reports are very sensationalist.

Had a couple of guys in their 20s come in after the recall requesting to buy all of our Bindeez.

I wonder if there's anything to be made from dealing in them! lol

[Tortoise]

Reporters have been very sensationalistic about this, but it is a pretty big deal when 3 kids ended up in hospital from ingesting a few tiny plastic beads with some type of psychoactive drug on or in them. Not good.

[csharpprogrammer]

Toys Pulled over Date Rape Drug Concerns

Live Report on Action News @ 11


WASHINGTON (AP) - November 7, 2007 - Millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when ingested. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

With only seven weeks until Christmas, the recall is yet another blow to the toy industry - already bruised by a slew of recalls this past summer.
In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. They are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function earlier this year.
It could not immediately be learned whether Aqua Dots beads are made in the same factories as the Bindeez product. Both are sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises.
The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused together when sprayed with water.
Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
Naren Gunja from Australia's Poisons Information Center said the drug's effect on children was "quite serious ... and potentially life-threatening."
The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in Australia.
The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday afternoon.
In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was being treated.
The news jolted the toy industry because Aqua Dots has been one of the few bright stars of the toy selling season, which, along with overall retailing, has gotten off to a sluggish start. The item, which had been heavily advertised, had appeared on many toy experts' list of must-have holiday toys, and toy sellers are now in the midst of canceling advertising and scrambling to figure out how to replace it.
Chris Byrne, a New York-based toy consultant, noted that the incidents could have been isolated, and Spin Master may be erring on the side of caution.

"This is something that they could not have foreseen. This is an extremely hot toy. ... It's a little scary," Byrne said.
In a statement, Toys "R" Us Inc., said that it issued on Tuesday a "stop sale" on the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line in its North American stores and on its Web site after it learned of the news. "We understand that Spin Master and U.S. regulatory authorities are investigating this product and we have asked Spin Master to fully explain what it believes happened," said the toy seller in a statement.
Meanwhile, a separate recall was announced for 405,000 children's products made in China, most of them toy cars, because of dangerous levels of lead.

The recall includes about 380,000 Pull-Back Action Toy Cars imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. of Goodlettsville, Tenn., and 7,500 Dragster and Funny Car toys imported by International Sourcing Ltd. of Springfield, Mo.
Four of the recalled products were imported by Schylling Associates Inc. of Rowley, Mass., including the items Duck Family Collectable Wind-Up Toy, Dizzy Ducks Music Box, "Robot 2000" collectable tin robot and Winnie-the-Pooh Spinning Top. The company recalled another 66,000 spinning tops Aug. 22.

Representatives from Schylling Associates Inc. were not immediately available for comment.
Wednesday's recalls include about 7,200 "Big Red" Wagons imported by Northern Tool & Equipment Co. of Burnsville, Minn. Totaling about 405,700, the recalled children's products all had excessive levels of lead in their surface paint.
Although no illnesses connected to the toy car recall have been reported, lead is toxic if ingested by young children. Children's products found to have more than 0.06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Reputation Comments on this post:

	amusing.
	Great find, beat me to posting this one.

[AntiAimer]

Funny how they label a amino acid as a date rape drug...

But what was GHB doing in the toys in the first place...?

[JDreaming]

I've seen this story around. The drug in the toy is actually 1,4-Butanediol, which metabolizes into GHB. I believe it's used as a solvent in plastic manufacturing. Recalling the toys would have been just fine; telling eight year old kids they've avoided a "date rape drug" seems unnecessary.

[Spelvin]

Swim wishes he'd known about this before the recall!! On another note, does it not piss any of swiys off that GHB is called a 'date-rape drug'? guess any illegal substance is going to be called the most sensationalistic name the media can find, but isn't rohypnol the more dangerous date-rape drug?

Reputation Comments on this post:

Damn straight it pisses me off!

[~lostgurl~]

bindeez_071107_60.jpg

A new entry has been added to Drugs Archive

Description:

2 mins
7 November 2007
One News, TVNZ

They are one of the hottest toys on the market but Bindeez Beads have been taken off the shelf. The small beads have been found to contain elements of a potentially fatal drug.

Though they look harmless in appearance it was found that if swallowed, they can be deadly for children as they contain a toxic chemical found in the drug Fantasy.

"The symptoms are mostly reduced conscious levels, these children come in very drowsy and they can be so sleepy that we are worried about them being able to breathe adequately," says Starship Hospital spokesperson Dr Richard Aickin.

Despite warnings on the box, children in New Zealand and across the Tasman have been rushed to hospital after ingesting the Chinese manufactured 'Australian Toy of the Year'.

"We're lucky that no fatalities have occurred as far as we know. However, the two children who came here were really quite sick," says Dr Aickin.

Around 58,000 Bindeez Beads sets have been sold in New Zealand since April.

After the Australian scare, authorities here have been quick to get them off the shelves and are urging parents to act quickly.

"Take them from the children, put them in a safe and secure place, a locked cupboard, somewhere where the kids can't get access to them and then monitor the media for the advice as to what they should do about returning the product," says Martin Rushton, spokesperson for the Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Australian and New Zealand consumer watchdogs are now trying to determine how the dangerous chemical got in the toy.


To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit Drug-laced beads banished (GHB)
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.

[~lostgurl~]

A new entry has been added to Drugs Archive

Description:
7 mins
7 November 2007
Breakfast, TVNZ

Breakfast spoke to medical toxicologist Dr John Fountain from the national poisons centre and consumers institute CEO Sue Chetwin to find out just how a dangerous chemical found in the illegal drug fantasy ended up in a children's toy.

To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit Just how toxic are Bindeez beads? (GHB)
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.

[SLippinOnIcE]

GHB has earned a pretty bad rep. SWIM uses it for personal recreation not for a "Date Rape" Wish SWIM would've known about this b4 the recall

[Pondlife]

Reminds me of this article from The Onion: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28331

Fun Toy Banned Because Of Three Stupid Dead Kids

WASHINGTON, DC–In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Wizco Toys of Montclair, NJ, recalled 245,000 Aqua Assault RoboFighters Monday after three dumb kids managed to kill themselves playing with the popular toy, ruining the fun for everybody else.

"The tragedy is inconceivable," Wizco president Alvin Cassidy said. "For years, countless children played with the Aqua Assault RoboFighter without incident. But then these three retards come along and somehow find a way to get themselves killed. So now we have to do a full recall and halt production on what was a really awesome toy. What a waste."

"My mom won't let me play with my RoboFighter because of those dumb kids who died," said 10-year-old Jeremy Daigle of Somerville, MA. "I used to set up army guys around the RoboFighter and have it run over them and conquer Earth for the Zardaxians. But now I'll never see it again, all because three stupid idiots had to go and wreck everything."

Each of the deaths was determined to be the result of gross misuse of the toy, an incredibly cool device that could shoot both plastic missiles and long jets of water, as well as maneuver over the ground on retractable wheels.

The first death occurred June 22, when 7-year-old Isaac Weiller of Grand Junction, CO, died after deliberately firing one of the spring-loaded plastic missiles into his left nostril. The missile shot into his sinuses, shattering the roof of his nasal cavity and causing a massive brain hemorrhage.

Shortly before dying, Weiller told emergency medical personnel at St. Luke's Medical Center that he had shot the missile into his nose in the belief that it would travel through his body and out his belly button.

"I've heard some pretty stupid shit in my time, but that has to take the cake," said Dr. Anderson Hunt, the attending physician. "Why would any kid think he could fire plastic missiles up his nose and expect them to come out his belly button? There's no point in feeling bad about this child's demise, because the deck was obviously stacked against him from the start. What we should feel bad about is the fact that because of him, millions of other children will no longer get to fire the RoboFighter's super-cool Devastator Missiles or soak their friends with its FunFoam WaterBlasters."

Joshua Schatzeder of Grand Rapids, MI, is forced to play with a boring little fire truck as a result of the recall.

Less than one month after Weiller's death, 5-year-old Danielle Krug fatally suffocated on fragments of the toy after repeatedly smashing it with a claw hammer in the garage of her parents' La Porte, IN, home.

"I'm not kidding," said Dianne Ensor, an emergency-room nurse at Our Lady Of Peace Hospital in La Porte, where Krug was pronounced dead. "She thought the broken shards were candy. That's what you'd assume after breaking a plastic, inedible toy, right? Absolutely un-fucking-believable."

The third and arguably stupidest death occurred August 12, when 11-year-old dumbass Michael Torres held the RoboFighter above his head and jumped off the balcony of his family's third-story Torrance, CA, apartment, thinking he would be able to fly like Superman.

"A couple of my fellow emergency workers thought we should cut the kid some slack, because at least he wasn't trying to eat the toy or shove it up his nose," said paramedic Debra Lindfors, who tried in vain to revive Torres. "I considered this for a while, but then I decided no. No way. If you're 11 years old, you should know that it's impossible to fly. And poor Wizco's probably going to go bankrupt because of this shit."

As a result of the extreme idiocy of the three children, the CPSC was forced to order Wizco to stop making the toy and remove it from store shelves, as well as recommend that parents remove it from their homes.

"I know the overwhelming majority of American kids who owned an Aqua Assault RoboFighter derived many hours of safe, responsible fun from it," CPSC commissioner Mary Sheila Gall said. "But, statistically speaking, three deaths stemming from contact with a particular toy constitutes an 'unreasonable risk.' Look, I'm really sorry about this. Honestly. But our agency's job is to protect the public from hazardous products, even if those who die are morons who deserved what they got."

[jkolt89]

That's f'n crazy!

Swim hears their new ad slogan is: Buy Aqua Dots, Get Laid!

Sheesh, nothing against China but first they kill a whole bunch of our dogs by exporting contaminated dog food and now they're trying to date rape kids by exporting GHB under the guise of candy. Shows why cheap labor is not always good labor.

BTW - Anybody know where I can pick up about 1000 cases cheap? Just kidding, no seriously.

[MrG]

Look, contrary to sensationalist reporting, 1,4BDO is not toxic, those kids did not go into a coma, they went into a very deep sleep and were unrousable for a period.

Very scary for the parents yes, but worthy of all this wailing and gnashing of teeth? No.

Don't forget, this is simply a manufacturing error. Yes, this error should not have happened. Yes it should have been picked up long before the batch concerned was shipped out to retailers, but every story I have seen so far is trying to make it sound as if this toy was purposely made with this substance on it.

[MrG]

Originally Posted by Spelvin

Swim wishes he'd known about this before the recall!! On another note, does it not piss any of swiys off that GHB is called a 'date-rape drug'? guess any illegal substance is going to be called the most sensationalistic name the media can find, but isn't rohypnol the more dangerous date-rape drug?

Abso-fuckin-lutely right. Roofies are the drug of choice when it comes to scumbag date rapists.

As I mentioned in another thread about this story, imagine if the reports simply stated that the substance converted into a medicine used to help narcoleptics patients get quality sleep at night to treat their daytime cataplexy.

Because, for those who are unaware, that is exactly what GHB is - Xyrem.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Bingo!

[Pondlife]

This article gives a clue as to why the manufacturer used 1,4-butanediol instead of 1,5-pentanediol: 1,4-butanediol is much cheaper than 1,5-pentanediol.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...hBAFwD8SPHKFO4

It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.

[Lehendakari]

Originally Posted by Spelvin

On another note, does it not piss any of swiys off that GHB is called a 'date-rape drug'? guess any illegal substance is going to be called the most sensationalistic name the media can find, but isn't rohypnol the more dangerous date-rape drug

Alcohol is actually the most dangerous and more common.

In my country some people call it liquid raping ecstasy lol...

[MrG]

Ooooh, nice find pondy.

That would explain a lot.

So maybe it *was* purposely made with 1,4BDO then! Only not by the owner of the product, but by their cheap manufacturing partner.

[Kodi]

I think its funny that the reported doesnt even know the name of the drug. He says GBH at the beginning unless my ears are messed up.