Date rape drug considered for treating fibromyalgia

In the long history of bad drug ideas, this has to go down as one of the worst.

Big Pharma is actually trying to push GHB--the so-called "date rape" drug--as a treatment for the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia.

Luckily, an FDA panel overwhelmingly rejected this one in a recent 20-2 vote. The panel even included an FBI agent, because the widespread manufacture and use of the date-rape drug has some pretty obvious law-enforcement implications.

Needless to say, she voted against it as well.

The drug made by Jazz Pharmaceuticals is formally known as sodium oxybate, also known as JZP-6. But don't be fooled by those dry-sounding lab names--as one of the panelists put it, this isn't just the same as GHB... it's actually better than what's available on the streets.

And by "better," he didn't mean "safer."

The only thing more frightening than the two people who actually voted to approve this thing is the fact that it's actually on the market already--it was approved for narcolepsy in 2002, and is currently sold under the name Xyrem.

And it contains one of the sternest black-box warnings you'll ever see:

"Even at recommended doses, use has been associated with confusion, depression and other neuropsychiatric events. Reports of respiratory depression occurred in clinical trials."

That's only part of the warning, by the way. Other risks include coma, seizures and "profound decreases in level of consciousness." The word "death" appears twice.

Those who abuse this drug say it also leads to a loss of both inhibitions and memory, which is what makes it so popular among rapists.

All that, and this thing isn't even a cure for fibromyalgia.

In fact, a company-funded study found that it offered pain relief of at least 30 percent in between 54 and 58 percent of patients. That sounds much less impressive when a placebo did the same thing more than third of the time.

Opening this drug up to a potential audience of up to 6 million Americans--mostly women--would be a mistake of epic proportions... one the FDA could still make when they issue the final word on Oct. 11.

But thankfully, dangerous drugs aren't the only option for fibromyalgia.

Many naturopathic doctors have had tremendous success treating the condition by looking for nutritional and hormonal deficiencies and food allergies. Some patients even experience significant improvement by simply losing weight.

And a new study shows that basic tai chi exercises offer safe, drug-free pain relief for fibromyalgia patients.

On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls