Fears rise over rush for GHB-laden toys

Wednesday Nov 7 10:00 AEDT

By Shaun Davies
with ninemsn staff and wires

Concerns are rising that drug-users may flock to Victorian toy stores after that state's authorities failed to withdraw from sale a popular children's toy that metabolises into the party drug fantasy when eaten.

The Bindeez craft toy range was withdrawn from shelves in every other state across the country yesterday after three children who ingested its "magic beads" were treated in hospital.

David Landis from Red Rocket Toy Store in Sydney said a number of callers had asked him about Bindeez yesterday, with some imploring him to ignore a nation-wide recall and sell them beads.

But he said it was difficult to know whether the calls were made by rogue parents or sneaky thrill seekers.

"I did definitely notice that people were still calling," Mr Landis said.

"It was funny because I had two or three people try to convince me that it was fine to sell them, because they were being bought for an older child.

"It would be difficult to say whether or not they were particularly young or not."

Revelations that a popular children's toy metabolises into GBH when eaten has sparked a flurry of interest on drug and rave-culture forums.

Bindeez quickly became a topic of discussion on drugs forums, with some users calling toy stores to check if the beads were still available.

Others asked for advice on buying beads from eBay, speculated about the exact chemical makeup of the toy and joked about drug users stampeding stores.

"Right, just say for example … that one wanted to purchase some of these magic beads off a fictional online auction site before they all disappear without a trace," wrote one user on a forum at inthemix.com.au, a club culture website.

"Would one, for example, assume that you could safely consume these magic beads and experience the, um, magic? I mean these magic beads don't actually contain G but they do turn into G when processed by our bodies, correct?"

Another user on the Bluelight Australian drugs discussion forum said they had called seven stores to find out whether the Bindeez beads were still available.

But the same user later added another post, saying that it would be "stupid to abuse these as a drug … who the hell would swallow these for a high?"

Another user joked: "Hundreds of drug users were killed today driving at high speeds to the local Toys R Us."

There were also reports that the price of Bindeez had skyrocketed on eBay before the online auction site removed the toys from sale.

Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia said there would be some interest in the beads from certain sections of the drug-using community.

But because GHB was already a relatively cheap drug, he did not think Bindeez beads would become a hot commodity.

"There's a certain section of the drug-taking community, who you might call pseudo-chemists, who would have been interested in this," Mr Dillon said.

The popular Hong Kong-manufactured craft toy has been officially banned in NSW, Queensland, the ACT, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory after two NSW children chomped on the "magic beads" in the toy and suffered seizures in separate incidents.

In Queensland, a third toddler was rushed to Toowoomba's St Vincents hospital last night after putting the toy in his mouth and falling ill.

Testing by scientists in NSW found the chemical link to the drug gamma-hydroxy butyrate (GHB) — also known as fantasy or Grievous Bodily Harm — which can also cause drowsiness, coma and death.

The drug was a factor in the cruise ship death of Brisbane mother Dianne Brimble, a Sydney inquest this year found.

Sydney-based poisons specialist Dr Naren Gunja said the list of Bindeez's ingredients supplied by the manufacturer said it should contain the non-toxic chemical known as 1,5-pentanediol.

"What we've found in the beads from testing done ... by our hospital scientists is that it contains 1,4-butanediol," Dr Gunja said, adding that this chemical was metabolised by the body into GHB.

"It can cause seizure-like activity and fitting, and both of the children that presented to the Children's Hospital at Westmead (in Sydney) had these symptoms ... quite serious effects and potentially life-threatening."

with AAP