Samantha Reid

It’s been a decade since Judi Clark has seen her daughter, Samantha Reid. The family lived in Rockwood, Michigan. The teenager’s death took the lives of many people in directions none of them ever imagined. It was Jan. 16, 1999, at the Grosse Ile Township apartment of Eric Limmer, 25, that the lives of seven young people took an unexpected turn for the worse.

Reid, along with Melanie Sindone, 14, of Rockwood, became severely ill after unknowingly drinking beverages laced with gamma hydroxybutyrate, also referred to as a “date rape” drug.
Jessica VanWassehnova, 15, also of Rockwood, had a different drink, and did not become severely ill. The girls were at the apartment with Joshua Cole, 18, of Southgate; Nicholas Edward Holtschlag, 17; and Daniel Robert Brayman, 18, both of Brownstown Township.

The men refused to call an ambulance when Reid and Sindone began vomiting and lost consciousness. Instead, they went to a local store to buy a vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies to clean Limmer's apartment. They cleaned the apartment before finally taking the girls to Oakwood Southshore Medical Center in Trenton formally known as "Seaway". The men told emergency room workers and police that the girls were at a house party in Ecorse and could only remember seeing a black man working the door. The men could not identify the location.

It wasn’t until Sindone regained consciousness that she told police what had occurred and where they had been. It was speculated during court testimony that Reid’s life might have been saved had the men not delayed getting her to a hospital and saying what was in her system. Brayman, Holtschlag and Cole were found guilty in 2000 of involuntary man-slaughter and poisoning, and were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Limmer was convicted of being an accessory to man-slaughter after the fact and was sentenced to up to five years in prison. The Michigan Court of Appeals eventually dropped the manslaughter charges, but the Michigan Supreme Court overturned the appellate court decision and the sentences were reinstated. Limmer served the maximum five-year sentence and was released in March 2004.

Brayman, Holtschlag and Cole were eligible for parole in 2007, but remain imprisoned. If they serve their maximum sentences, they will be released in 2015. Reid's death was the inspiration behind legislation titled the “Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000.” The law categorizes GHB as a schedule 1 controlled substance.

This case received national attention and was one of the first poisoning convictions involving GHB resulting in someone’s death. Soon after Reid’s death, her mother went on a mission to find out more about the drug. She formed the nonprofit Samantha Reid Foundation to help spread the word about GHB. The foundation was formed to push legislation and to let the public know about the dangers of date-rape drugs. The drug can be used recreationally and usually is used to sexually assault women. None of the girls in this case was sexually assaulted and it was never proved that that was the intent.

Both GBL and GHB have effects very similar to those of alcohol, but are much more potent. GHB is generally diluted with water and stored in small bottles, and the dose is usually measured in cap fulls. Since the FDA had banned GHB from sale, most GHB was and is created by clandestine chemists, and bottles of GHB can be diluted to widely varying amounts.

Street Names for GHB: GHB, "G" (most common), Gamma-OH, Liquid E, Fantasy, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid X, Liquid Ecstasy (is not ecstasy), Scoop, Water, Everclear, Great Hormones at Bedtime, GBH, Soap, Easy Lay, Salty Water, G-Riffick, Cherry Meth, and Organic Quaalude, Jib.

Description: A clear liquid. Looks just like water. Can be mistaken for water because it is usually found in a small (30ml) clear plastic bottle, a water bottle, or even Gatorade bottles, which contains several doses. One quick taste, and you'll know it's not water. Not as common, but also found as a white powder. Infact powder use is on the rise!

Effects: Intoxication, increased energy, happiness, talking, desire to socialize, feeling affectionate and playful, mild disinhibition, sensuality, enhanced sexual experience, muscle relaxation, loss of coordination due to loss of muscle tone, possible nausea, difficulty concentrating, loss of gag reflex.

What you should know:

• Do not take drinks from a stranger.
• Do not leave your drink unattended.
• Don’t drink from open containers like a punch bowl, advises Cohen.
• Drink from tamper-proof bottles or cans, and open them yourself.
• Be wary of drinks that taste salty or soda that is flat; these can be signs of GHB.
• Also avoid a substance called GBL. “It turns into GHB in your body,” explains Cohen. “You might as well just have taken GHB.”
• Be suspicious of eyedroppers, mouthwash bottles and bubble solution — they are often used as GHB containers.
• If you think you may have been drugged:
  1. Call 911. “Many of the people who are dead from GHB would be alive if their friends had called 911,” says Porrata. “The sooner a victim can get medical help, the better the chance of life.”
  2. Ask for a urine test, suggests Porrata. Police and hospitals often use blood tests to identify drugs, but GHB is only in the blood for four hours. It can be identified in urine for longer.
• If an unconscious victim is vomiting, turn the individual on either side to avoid choking or suffocation.