OVERDOSES SET OFF ALARMS OVER GHB.

Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer

The GHB overdose of five partygoers at a hip Hollywood nightclub last week underscored the drug's alarming rise in popularity among teen-agers and young adults, police said.

It already is making inroads in the San Fernando Valley because it's cheap, easy to conceal and can be made at home with instructions from the Internet, police said.

``Kids are making it in their kitchens,'' said Sgt. Kevin McClure with the Los Angeles Police Department's narcotics division. ``Whether or not they got it right, they find out later.''

Officers have arrested several young people for ingesting or selling GHB at ``trendy, high-profile types of clubs'' and rave parties, including several in the Valley, McClure said.

GHB, shortened from gammahydroxybutyrate, leads to a quick stupor that can last for several hours. A close cousin to the so-called ``date-rape'' drug Rohypnol, it's a colorless, odorless liquid that can be poured into a beverage undetected but still can lead to fatal overdoses.

And much like the spread of LSD in the 1960s, authorities say GHB is favored by young people and almost impossible to combat head-on.

``It's a nightmare for law enforcement officers,'' said retired LAPD narcotics Detective Trinka Porrata. ``It's the hardest drug to identify and the easiest to distribute.''

``I could parachute out of an airplane anywhere in the country and land in a community where GHB is being used,'' Porrata said. ``It's out of control, and it's everywhere.''

Four teens were hospitalized in Irvine on Saturday when they suffered a bad reaction from taking the drug. That was two days after five other GHB overdose victims, four men and a woman, collapsed after partying at the Hollywood Athletic Club on the Sunset Strip. They were rushed to local hospitals in critical condition but were later upgraded to stable.

LAPD spokesman Officer Mike Partain said investigators will wait until toxicology reports are returned before deciding whether to pursue charges against the partygoers.

The overdose reinforced for authorities the challenge of stemming GHB, which has increased in popularity since it started popping up in the mid-1990s.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Mike Van Winkle said the state's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement has arrested only a few GHB dealers, as agents spend much of their time with heroin, methamphetamine, and crack and powder cocaine.

``It's not one of the big four,'' Van Winkle said. ``When we discover GHB it's usually because agents have run across a dealer selling three or four different things.''

If the LAPD's concern is any measure, however, GHB is the drug problem of the future.

``We're just starting to educate our officers.'' McClure said. ``We have to take a proactive approach and focus on education.''