4 Bodybuilders Ill After Taking Designer Drug
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Four bodybuilders became ill Monday after taking a designer drug that they believed would help them get in shape, fire officials said.
Three of the men were found collapsed on the floor of an Encino office and another was standing up and talking, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. Firefighters received the call at 11:36 a.m.
Two of the men were treated and released, and two others were in serious condition at a hospital, Humphrey said.
A representative of Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center did not immediately return a phone call seeking the victims’ conditions Monday night.
The men had apparently taken the drug GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutryrate, a colorless, odorless compound usually placed in beverages that, according to experts, gives a feeling of euphoria or intellectual superiority. With alcohol or in an overdose, the drug can cause deadly seizures and respiratory problems.
The men’s identities were not released.
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