According to NBC Out (LGBTQ arm).com. a dangerous party drug has been everywhere, even Amazon. Even with COVID-19, substances like GHB (gamma-hydroxy-butyrate), known in the past, as “the date rape” drug or “roofies”, is on the virtual party scene, in bars, and in gyms where it is used to burn fat and build muscle, and is available online.
Just as you didn’t want your toddler ingesting DRAINO, nor do you want your adolescent/adult buying GHB on line. It has some of the same properties as DRAINO! It contains Lye. It is mixed with GBL, a chemical cousin of GHB, an industrial solvent powerful enough to strip floors and wreck havoc with your child! Is is produced in illegal labs like “Crystal Meth.”
On the street, it is sold as Gamma Oh, Georgia Home Boy, Great Hormones at Bedtime, Grievous Bodily Harm, Growth Hormone Booster, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Salty Water, Sleep, Vita G.
What is GHB?
It is a colorless, tasteless liquid or a white powder that may have a soapy or salty taste. Used to treat narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder and alcoholism, in small doses, it can give its user a feeling of euphoria, without the next day hangover of alcohol abuse. It is a sexual enhancer. However, in large doses, it can cause amnesia and black outs. It works by depressing the central nervous system.
Some of the other side effects include:
- clumsiness
- confusion
- exhaustion
- hallucinations
- headache
- loss of consciousness
- lower body temperature
- nausea
- seizures
- sluggishness
- sweating
- vomiting
GHB can be fatal if mixed with alcohol, benzodiazephines (sedatives), opioids and barbituates and can result in nausea, loss of muscle control and difficulty breathing.
It can result in addiction and withdrawing from GHB, you can have anxiety, insomnia, tremors, sweating. You can treat the dependence with Diazepam, a benzodiazepine.
Difficult to Detect
In the emergency room, GHB is difficult to detect. It has a short half-life so it’s difficult to diagnose in urine. Nine-five percent of GHB is metabolized in the liver.
Studies of Usage
From 2016 to 2019, JJ. Palamar, Ph.D., Grossman School of Medicine at NYU and Katherine Keyes, epidemologist at Columbia University, found that the rate of GHB increased from 1 in 100 to 1 in 25. According to NBC Out, GHB is disproportionately popular with the gay and lesbian community.
Caveat Emptor: Buyer and Parents beware!
Wesley Cullen Davidson
Wesley Cullen Davidson is an award-winning freelance writer and journalist specializing in parenting. Currently, she is targeting her writing about recovery to parents whose children have substance abuse disorders.