GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate)
Also Known As: liquid Ecstasy, G, Georgia home boy.
What You Should Know
GHB is often made in home basement labs, usually in the form of an odourless, colourless liquid. It is taken in liquid or powder form, usually mixed in water, or swallowed in tablets.
GHB is a popular alternative to Ecstasy. The number of people brought to emergency departments because of GHB side effects is rising rapidly in the US and Canada. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), since 1995 GHB has killed more users than Ecstasy.
What's the Problem?
- GHB is a depressant that can cause both euphoric (high) and hallucinogenic effects.
- It can cause severe nausea, breathing problems, decreased heart rate and seizures.
- GHB been used for date rape because it is colorless and odourless and easy to slip into drinks.
- At high doses, users can lose consciousness within minutes.
- It's easy to overdose: There is only a small difference between the dose used to get high and the amount that can cause an overdose. Overdosing on GHB requires emergency care in a hospital right away. Within an hour GHB overdose can cause coma and stop breathing, resulting in death.
- GHB (even at lower doses) mixed with alcohol is very dangerous — using it even once can kill you.
