Drinking Drug.....may be in your drink?

In the last few years, GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate) has become popular on the rave scene, with users enjoying an alcohol-like high with potent positive sexual effects. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid or GHB, is a compound that was initially used by body builders to stimulate muscle growth. In recent years it has become popular as a recreational drug among club kids and partygoers.

GHB is a clear odorless and colorless liquid (usually mixed with alcohol). It is also available in the form of white powder (usually made into tablets). GHB has reportedly been used in cases of date rape. Because GHB is odorless and tasteless, it can be slipped into someone's drink without detection.

On the street, it is usually sold as a liquid by the dose (a capful from a bottle or drops). In some cities, GHB is put into water guns, and users buy it by the squirt. In other instances, candy, such as a lollipop, is dipped in GHB and sold. GHB is usually sold by the capful, and sells for $5 to $25 per cap.

GHB is snorted, smoked, or mixed into drinks. The effects can be felt within 5 to 20 minutes after ingestion and the high can last up to four hours. The most commonly abused form is the liquid. The street names for the drug are liquid X, G, scoop, goop, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous bodily harm, etc.

The effects of GHB vary each time a person uses it. Initial effects include euphoria and relaxation. Within 15 minutes nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, visual disturbances, respiratory distress, amnesia, seizures, and coma are possible. It is difficult to predict a person's reaction to GHB-- because GHB is produced in clandestine labs, the purity and strength of doses vary. Coma, poisoning and death resulting from ingestion of GHB are possible. In lower doses, GHB has a euphoric effect similar to alcohol, and can make the user feel relaxed, happy and sociable. It causes drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, and visual disturbances. At higher dosages, unconsciousness, seizures, severe respiratory depression, and coma can occur.