HOME Office ministers are set to re-examine whether a drug which helped kill a Bolton woman should be banned.

MP Ruth Kelly is to raise the issue of club drug GHB with them after the death of Andrea Murphy, a 25-year-old chef manager, whose family come from Lostock in her Bolton West constituency.

Her father Patrick, of Dunchurch Close, Lostock, said: "It has been banned in America for some years now and we should do the same here."

Miss Murphy was found dead at her home in Wigan in October 1997 after taking a cocktail of amphetamines and the drug whose full name is Gammahydroxybutyrate.

She is the second person to die after taking GHB in recent months.

Legal

The drug is legal to possess or use but illegal to produce or supply except for medical purposes.

Recording a verdict of death by the non dependent abuse of drugs yesterday, Coroner Martin Coppel warned against the use of the substance saying: "I can only hope that, if there's publicity, that people learn about its dangers and avoid it at all costs."

A pathology report presented at the inquest showed that Miss Murphy had 1,400mg of GHB in her blood - a level of 260mg would cause deep sedation.

Now Andrea's parents, Patrick and Kathleen, have launched a campaign to get possession and use of the drug banned.

Mrs Kelly is backing their move and will be contacting Home Secretary Jack Straw.

She said: "I was shocked to read the reports about Andrea's death in the BEN which highlight the dangers of taking drugs.

"I am very concerned that this drug, which has led to the death of a young girl with her whole life ahead of her, is so widely available in nightclubs and will most certainly be writing to the Home Secretary asking him to investigate.

"This harrowing case should offer a stark warning to people who are considering experimenting with drugs that they can be lethal and should not be touched.

"If anyone is unsure about the dangers of drugs, they have only to read reports about Andrea's tragic death to see the heartbreak they can cause."

A Home Office spokesman said that Drugs Minister George Howarth considered the case of GHB last year and referred the substance to the Drugs Abuse Committee of the department.

It decided that the use of GHB was not sufficiently widespread and the social consequences were not sufficiently great to ban it completely under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

In addition, there are some medical uses for the drug and the Government asked the Medicines Control Agency to tighten up restrictions on its production and distribution for these purposes.

As a result, there had been some prosecutions which had led to a reduction in its availability for abuse.

The spokesman said that the Government was currently examining whether to take tighter control of 36 other ecstasy-type substances.

She said: "The question of this drug was considered and it was decided that its misuse was not sufficiently widespread and the social consequences were not great enough to make it a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

"But we are keeping the situation under constant review. Any representations made about this drug will be taken very seriously by ministers."

GHB - known unofficially as GBH - is growing in popularity on the club scene as it is said to increase a person's sex drive and euphoria before causing sedation.

There were suggestions that Andrea may have taken the drug to help her sleep.

Last year Bolton police went out onto the streets of the town centre to warn revellers about the dangers of GHB following an incident where a number of people collapsed after taking the drug.

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