Australian toy of the year gets you high

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (4-hydroxybutanoic acid, C4H8O3), commonly abbreviated GHB, is a therapeutic drug that is illegal in a number of countries, and is a naturally-occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all other living creatures in small amounts. It is currently regulated in the US and sold by Jazz Pharmaceuticals under the name Xyrem. (from Wikipedia) It’s now available in toyboxes all across Australia.

Bindeez beads were named Australia’s Toy of the Year for 2007, a designation that is now certain to become infamous. Ironically, just hours before the recall was announced, the hallucinogenic beads were named as a finalist for an Australian Export Award, having already won the Governor of Victoria’s Export Award in the arts, entertainment and design category.

A popular children’s toy with beads containing a chemical that converts into the illegal drug fantasy when swallowed has been officially recalled, two days after concerns were raised about the product.

Named as Australia’s 2007 Toy of the Year, the “Bindeez” range of craft toys has been voluntarily recalled across the nation by its distributor after three children were hospitalised in the past fortnight after eating Bindeez beads.

Melbourne-based firm Moose Enterprise on Wednesday has advised parents to immediately remove the product from children’s access.

Posted by Beagle17
"RSS here": http://feeds.feedburner.com/GnnBeagle17 Grew up in Nova Scotia. Hold BSc. in Biology and Grad. Diploma Journalism. Moved to Korea in 1997, and Taiwan in 1999. Currently teaching, writing, and doing Web design. Concerned about depleted...

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