Medical Whistleblower Advocacy Network

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1

In the U.S.A. the National Forensic Laboratory Information System data indicated that GHB rarely is identified in drug items analyzed by state and local forensic laboratories.

Dr. Deborah L. Zvosec, Ph.D., Research Associate, Department of Emergency Medicine Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN did research to identify 226 deaths from GHB & analogs that occurred from 1995-2005.

The 226 deaths that she identified included 155 men and 71 women, including 209 in the U.S. (36 states), 4 in Canada (Quebec), and 13 in the UK. Ages ranged from 15-53 years (average: 28 years). Of the 226, 207 deaths were classified as GHB-caused, in which toxic effects of GHB caused or contributed to death. GHB is lethal with and without other drugs or alcohol. GHB/analogs are not “sleep-it-off” drugs.

She notes that:

1. routine toxicology tests used by hospitals and ME’s do not detect GHB/analogs;

2. many coroners and ME’s are unfamiliar with GHB/analogs and do not know to request specific tests to detect them;

3. limited funds are available for death investigations, so toxicology testing often stops when other drugs are detected;

4. there are no centralized databases to indicate when and where GHB-associated deaths are detected;

5. death records are often un-searchable, due to limited technology and/or funds; and

6. access to death records is, in some states, limited by privacy concerns.

1. Zvosec D, Dyer J, Porrata T, Smith S, Strobl A. Preventable deaths associated with Gamma
   hydroxybutyrate (GHB) ingestion: 226 fatalities (Abstract 49). European Journal of Emergency
   Medicine 2008;15:304.

2. Zvosec D, Smith S, Porrata T, Strobl A, Dyer J. Fatal motor vehicle collisions while Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)-intoxicated. Proceedings of the Joint Annual Meeting of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) and the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT), Seattle, WA, August 29, 2007.

3. Zvosec DL, Smith SW, Porrata T, Strobl AQ, Dyer J. Preventable deaths from Gamma hydroxybutyrate ingestion. Abstract 247. Annals of Emergency Medicine 2006;48(4):S75.

4. Zvosec DL, Smith SW, Porrata T, Quinn AQ, Dyer JE. 226 Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)-associated fatalities: Overlap of postmortem GHB levels with endogenous, therapeutic, and non-fatal GHB toxicity cases and factors supporting exogenous origin. Oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Medical Examiners, Savannah GA, October 13, 2007.

Pascal Kintz, Marion Villain, Vincent Cirimele, Bertrand Ludes GHB in postmortem toxicology: Discrimination between endogenous production from exposure using multiple specimens Forensic Science International, Volume 143, Issues 2–3, 16 July 2004, Pages 177-181

Aino Kankaanpää, Raija Liukkonen, Kari Ariniemi Determination of γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursors in blood and urine samples: A salting-out approach Forensic Science International, Volume 170, Issues 2–3, 6 August 2007, Pages 133-138

Francesco Mari, Lucia Politi, Claudia Trignano, Maria Grazia Di Milia, Marianna Di Padua, Elisabetta Bertol What constitutes a normal ante-mortem urine GHB concentration? Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 3, April 2009, Pages 148-151

Riccardo Rossi, Massimo Lancia, Cristiana Gambelunghe, Antonio Oliva, Nadia Fucci Identification of GHB and morphine in hair in a case of drug-facilitated sexual assault Forensic Science International, Volume 186, Issues 1–3, 15 April 2009, Pages e9-e11

Albert A. Elian GC–MS determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in blood Forensic Science International, Volume 122, Issue 1, 15 October 2001, Pages 43-47 C.

Jones Suspicious death related to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) toxicity Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine, Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2001, Pages 74-76

Simon L. Hill, Simon H.L. Thomas What's new in… Toxicity of drugs of abuse Medicine, Volume 37, Issue 11, November 2009, Pages 621-626

Marianne Ingels, Cyrus Rangan, Joseph Bellezzo, Richard F Clark Coma and respiratory depression following the ingestion of GHB and its precursors: Three cases The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 19, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 47-50

Albert A Elian A novel method for GHB detection in urine and its application in drug-facilitated sexual assaults Forensic Science International, Volume 109, Issue 3, 10 April 2000, Pages 183-187

Casey T. Lesar, John Decatur, Elaan Lukasiewicz, Elise Champeil Report on the analysis of common beverages spiked with gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) using NMR and the PURGE solvent-suppression technique Forensic Science International, Volume 212, Issues 1–3, 10 October 2011, Pages e40-e45

Marion Villain, Vincent Cirimele, Bertrand Ludes, Pascal Kintz Ultra-rapid procedure to test for γ-hydroxybutyric acid in blood and urine by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry Journal of Chromatography B, Volume 792, Issue 1, 15 July 2003, Pages 83-87

Simon P Elliott Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) concentrations in humans and factors affecting endogenous production Forensic Science International, Volume 133, Issues 1–2, 23 April 2003, Pages 9-16

Pasarapa Towiwat, Siripan Phattanarudee, Timothy J. Maher Comparative study of equimolar doses of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) on catalepsy after acute and chronic administration Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 51, January 2013, Pages 337-342

Sandra Rinne Dahl, Kirsten Midtbøen Olsen, Dag Helge Strand Determination of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), pregabalin, 1,4-butane-diol (1,4BD) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) in whole blood and urine samples by UPLC–MSMS Journal of Chromatography B, Volumes 885–886, 15 February 2012, Pages 37-42

Niklas Timby, Anders Eriksson, Kerstin Boström Gamma-hydroxybutyrate-associated deaths The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 108, Issue 6, 15 April 2000, Pages 518-519

MEDICAL WHISTLEBLOWER ADVOCACY NETWORK

P.O. 42700 

Washington, DC 20015

MedicalWhistleblowers (at) gmail.com

 

Medical Whistleblower Canary Brochures

Who We Are

Advice to Medical Whistleblowers

Advice to Whistleblower Supporters

Too Close for Comfort

The Spiritual Side of  Whistleblowing

How To Be a Volunteer

Your Problem Solving Personality

PTSD - Emotional and Psychological Symptoms

PTSD - Physical Symptoms

Effects of Whistleblower Retaliation

Retraumatization

Partners with Law Enforcement

Behind the Blue Line - Law Enforcement Whistleblowers

 

Medical Whistleblower Canary Notes

Bridging the Gap - Communicating Across Disciplines

Due Process

Bullying

Criminal Corruption

Criminal RICO

Investigation Techniques

Mortgage Fraud

Monroe v Pape

Crime Victim's Rights

PTSD Injury not Disease

Psychiatric Rights & The Law

Martin Luther King Jr. ,  Title 42 and 1983

White Collar Crime and Criminal Intelligence

Constitutional Law

United Nations Declaration of Human Rights

Witness Intimidation

Torture

 

 

"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."  Confucius

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt- Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

Medical Whistleblower has a commitment to improving the protection of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as defined in, among others, the following regional and international legal instruments:

•             UN legal instruments pertaining to human rights, including: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the international covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights; the conventions providing for monitoring mechanisms (torture, racial discrimination, discrimination against women, the rights of the child, rights of migrant workers and their families); and the conventions and standards of the International Labor Organization;

•             Special procedures and non-treaty mechanisms of the United Nations;

•             The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;

•             The UN resolution establishing the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights defenders;

•             The United Nations guidelines on human rights defenders;

In addition, Medical Whistleblower upholds the principle of  a code of ethical and moral conduct that all means used by Medical Whistleblower will not include violence -  We exclude the use of violence to advance political aims.  We work with and in collaboration with existing governmental structures and systems but put pressure on governments in a non-violent manner to achieve human rights protections and goals.  

"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience."

Mahatma Gandhi, 1922

 

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
- Edmund Burke

Find Your Senators

Find your Representative

Library of Congress

Bureau Justice Statistics

US Courts

"It does not require many words to speak the truth."

Chief Joseph

“When we call anything a person’s right, we mean that he has a valid claim on society to protect him in the possession of it, either by the force of law, or by that of education and opinion”

John Stuart Mill

"The adversarial system of justice is by nature unfair and unjust. It favours the strong over the weak. It accentuates social and cultural differences, favouring the rich who are able to engage and pay for the services of one or more layers."

Justice Minister
Madame Guigou, 1999

“Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.”
―Martin Luther

“The most powerful individual in the state will be cautious of committing any flagrant invasion of another’s right, when he knows that the fact of his oppression must be examined and decided by twelve indifferent men.”

Sir William Blackstone

  Please join us in learning more about the issues confronting Medical Whistleblowers.

 Registration Survey

“I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” ― Edward Everett Hale

Over the GW - Available on DVD

 

National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy

Phoenix Rising Therapy

Suicide Prevention   (800) 273-TALK

Vietnam Veterans of America, Crisis Phone Number. Special Notice: If you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call this toll-free number 1-800-273-8255 available 24/7, and tell them you are a veteran. All calls are confidential. http://www.vva.org/.

Veterans’ Crisis Intervention Hotline: 1-888-899-9377. A Crisis Intervention Hotline has been established by the VA Heartland Network to assist veterans who may be dealing with a mental health crisis or difficult issue in their lives. The hotline will also aid family members or friends of veterans who need help in assisting a veteran in crisis.

On line Therapy

National Center for PTSD

International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP)

The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights - Attorney Jim Gottstein

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

SMART

International Survivors Action Committee

Fighting International Child Abuse Network

Mind Freedom

The Road Back — How To Get Off Psychiatric Drugs Safely

Soteria House — Alternative & Non Drug Solutions for people diagnosed schizophrenic

 

The Icarus Project - Navigating the Space between Brilliance and Madness

Plato, Not Prozac — Applying Philosophy to Every Day Problems, Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy University of New York

DrugFreeChildren.org — Informational Website on Issues Surrounding the Use of “Chemical Restraints” on Children

AbleChild — Parents for A Label and Drug Free Education

European Network of (ex) Users and Survivors of Psychiatry

Safe Harbor includes links to find medical doctors (by zip code) who can assist with helping people safely get off of psychiatric drugs and medical personnel who will treat people without the use of psychiatric drugs.

Institute for Progressive Medicine — Conventional and Complementary Therapies

Whitaker Wellness Institute — Health Care for a Longer, More Active Life with a focus on elderly care

The American College for the Advancement of Medicine — A Non-Profit Medical Society Dedicated to Improving Complimentary and Alternative Medicine

MedlinePlus — Information on Drugs, Supplements and Herbal Information

Medwatch — The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program

Mind Freedom

The National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy

The Antipsychiatry Coalition

Stop Shrinks!

Association for Mental Health Alternatives

The Alliance for Human Research Protection

A list of crisis help lines and service providers can be found in your phone book, or contact any of the organizations listed below.

 

• National Suicide Hotline 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-SAFE (800-799-7233)
• National Child Abuse Hotline 800-4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453)

"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."

Martin Luther King Jr., Why Can’t We Wait 1964

Governmental Accountability Project

The National Whistleblower Center

Project on Governmental Oversight

National Security Whistleblowers Coalition

Judicial Watch

National Forum on Judicial Accountability

Public Citizen  

NELA - National Employment Lawyers Association -  

TAF - Tax Payers Against Fraud -

No Fear Coalition -

Veterans Affairs Whistleblower Coalition -   

American Association of University Professors -  

Bully on Line - Tim Field's website

Workplace Bullying Institute

Integrity International - 

Stop Guardian Abuse

The Psychiatric Law Project

Judge Bazelon - Mental Health Project

Patient Quality Care Project (PQCP): A Project of the Liberty Coalition

American Civil Liberties Union

Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

Liberty Coalition

National Security Whistleblower Coalition

Open the Government Coalition

Voices for Corporate Responsibility

Union of Concerned Scientists

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)

International Red Cross Committee

United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body Database
*for State party reports, Concluding Observations, and other treaty body documents

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations Home Page

U.S. Human Rights Network

Physicians for Human Rights

Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

CESCR Convention text  CESCR-- Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

State party reports
Concluding Observations

OHCHR CESCR website

Stop Violence

Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

Center for Reproductive Rights

Human Rights Watch

Disabled Women on the Web

Disabled Women's Right to Health Care

International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP)

Karat Coalition (Poland)

Network of East-West Women

Against Women

University of MN Human Rights Library

Women's Human Rights Resources, Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto

Alliance for Human Research Protection

United Nations Foundation 

"Free men of every generation must combat renewed efforts of organized force and greed to destroy liberty." 

Robert M. La Follette Sr.

FAIR USE NOTICE: These links may contain copyrighted (© ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is used for non-profit educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Any copyright owner who objects to the use of their copyrighted material should send an e-mail to MedicalWhistleblowers (at) gmail.com