Chemical Submission: In Cap-Ferret, the creator of a GHB detector bracelet

Available in pharmacies for a month now, this bracelet is intended as a tool to prevent rape or robbery committed using this increasingly widespread drug. Nightclubs and festivals are showing interest.

It's worn around the wrist or kept within easy reach for use. There are five tablets on this bracelet. Four test zones where you pour a drop of the drink you're concerned about. In ten seconds, the yellow for "OK" or the blue for "danger" appears. We then know if the drink contains GHB, a powerful psychotropic drug increasingly used by attackers. On the terrace of a hotel in Cap-Ferret, Benoît de Montessus presents "I drink safe," from his brand Docteur B , a bracelet that has been on sale for a month in 4,000 (para)pharmacies in France.

“GHB is a very sneaky drug: it is very difficult to detect after ingestion.”

Married, confined, and on vacation in Cap-Ferret, the 41-year-old left the family home in the 44-hectare neighborhood for this reason. Four years ago, in the wake of Covid, he founded the SBS laboratory (Health, well-being and safety) with his partner Maria Hydra, and developed the general first aid brand Docteur B. Physiological serum, pregnancy tests, wipes, cotton pads, 70-proof alcohol: unless impossible, the products are designed and manufactured in France. "We were, like everyone else, shocked by the Mazan trial ," he explains. "Chemical submission rape has become a real scourge and we wanted to contribute, on our scale, to fighting it and engaging socially to raise awareness."

And developing this bracelet for eight months with the world leader in rapid tests (All Test) therefore works in the same way as Covid or pregnancy tests. It has proven to be 96% reliable in the lab on a very small dose (14 mg), the attackers using much heavier (1 to 2 g). "We have also worked with rape victims using GHB, which is a very insidious drug: it is very difficult to detect after ingestion," recalls the manager. "It disappears from the blood in six to eight hours, and from the urine in less than ten hours. As a result, victims who present themselves late to the hospital have almost no chance of obtaining biological confirmation."

The set of two bracelets costs around €6, which doesn't seem to deter parents or their older children: 50,000 have been sold in the last month, with a target of 150,000 by the end of the season. "It's a product where our margin is very low, a margin just enough for our 10-person company to grow," assures Benoît de Montessus, who has a turnover of €8.5 million for SBS in 2024. The former sales director for fashion brands mentions the numerous contacts with managers of nightclubs, student unions (BDE) in higher education institutions, and festivals. The manager of the Nuits de Champagne festival, in October, has already placed an order.

"In the week since we started offering them, a good ten packs have been sold, with very positive feedback," says François Michel, from the Pinède pharmacy in La Teste-de-Buch. "Parents who are reassured by this," he continues. "It's still very sad that we've resorted to putting lids on glasses or resorting to these bracelets." Doctor B is already working on a bracelet that can detect five drugs.