Customs agents seize six gallons of ‘coma in a bottle’

Customs and Border Protection agents in Philadelphia seized six gallons of the industrial solvent gamma butyrolactone, known on the street as “coma in a bottle” and liquid ecstasy. As a drug, GBL is a central nervous system depressant with, as its moniker suggests, similar effects to ecstasy pills. While its intended use is to strip paint and rust, it is considered a schedule 1 controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Gamma butyrolactone, GBL for short, is also a precursor chemical for the “date rape drug” gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, otherwise known...