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1,4-Butanediol (BD)'s chemical formula is C4H10O2. You can purchase it on the Internet. It is in industrial cleaners. It is used in polyurethane to make car bumpers. It is used to make Spandex. It is also an abused recreational drug that has been linked to two deaths and six severe illnesses. 1,4-Butanediol is used industrially as a solvent and in the manufacture of some types of plastics, elastic fibers and polyurethanes. In organic chemistry, 1,4-butanediol is used for the synthesis of ?-butyrolactone (GBL). In the presence of phosphoric acid and high temperature, it dehydrates to the important solvent tetrahydrofuran.At about 200 °C in the presence of soluble ruthenium catalysts, the diol undergoes dehydrogenation to form butyrolactone. It is also used as a recreational drug known by some users as "One Comma Four", "One Four Bee" or "One Four B-D-O". It exerts effects similar to ?-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which is a metabolic product of 1,4-butanediol.Misuse has also resulted in addiction and death. 1,4-Butanediol affects the central nervous system in a way similar to alcohol. It relaxes people and makes them sleepy. It also slows central nervous system functions, causing a reduced breathing rate and slowed reflexes. As with alcohol, too much 1,4-Butanediol can cause a person to lose consciousness, lose control of his bladder or bowels, experience seizures or fall into a coma. Many car accidents have been caused by people who have taken BD or GHB. BD is also addictive and when it is discontinued after regular use, people may have withdrawal symptoms such as feelings of anxiety, severe sweating, tremors and muscle aches, and audio or visual hallucinations. Once ingested, 1,4-Butanediol (and a similar chemical, GBL) turns into gamma hydroxybutyrate, GHB. GHB, the so-called "date-rape" drug, received national attention when two teenage girls died after it was slipped into their sodas. As a result of this case, GHB was declared a restricted drug in March 2000. There is now a 20-year maximum jail term for the illegal manufacture or trafficking of GHB. GHB is illegal, but 1,4-BUTANEDIOL is not. This is like banning peanut butter but leaving peanuts on the grocery store shelves. As a first step toward banning 1,4-BUTANEDIOL, the US Food and Drug Administration declared 1,4-BUTANEDIOL a Class 1 Health Hazard in 1999. Since then, manufacturers have been asked to recall products containing BD (or GBL). These include Blue Nitro, Borametz, Serenity, BioMetabolic P.M., and Zen. As evidence mounts that 1,4-BUTANEDIOL is as dangerous as GHB, Congress will consider making 1,4-BUTANEDIOL a Schedule I drug. In the meantime, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has teamed with several organizations to launch a $54 million-dollar campaign to educate the public about the dangers of GHB and other club drugs. 1,4-BUTANEDIOL is available legally in large quantities for industrial uses; one recommendation has been to color the clear liquid BLUE so that it cannot be slipped undetected into someone's drink.
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