GHB: What is the gay sex, party drug G? – USA TODAY
In the club or at a party, GHB makes its entrance. It arrives in a small vial – maybe paired with a dropper – and is poured into a drink. Something sweet like lemonade. Or even water.
“G” is popular enough among some on the party scene to be known by just its first initial. It has been favored in club settings, particularly at gay clubs. Users say they feel euphoric, sexy and confident. But it can also cause nausea, dizziness, blurred vision and elevated body temperatures. In Europe, it’s gained attention for being linked to a number of rapes and deaths.
Experts say GHB deserves more of our attention and caution, and those who are taking it should be armed with information about its dangers, especially as it gains popularity. Remember, too, that addiction is possible, and drug use can be deadly.
“If you’re using a drug like GHB, you need to tell your friends,” says Joseph Palamar, associate professor in the department of population health at New York University. “If you’re out with five people dancing, and you’re the one person who takes G, your friends need to know.”
What is GHB?
GHB stands for gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, aka sodium oxybate. The drug can be prescribed for medicinal use as a means to treat daytime sleepiness and muscle weakness associated with narcolepsy.
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In the early 1990s, men who wanted to bulk up scored GHB in gyms. A Japanese study said if you took GHB to sleep, you’d fall into a deep sleep – and prime your body to increase your growth hormone.
It spread from the gyms to bars and nightclubs – girlfriends of bodybuilders, models, and eventually to the queer community.
“It was a way to enjoy getting high without the calories of alcohol,” says Trinka Porrata, president of Project GHB, an educational nonprofit that spreads awareness about the consequences of GHB use.
Porrata first came across GHB when she was a Los Angeles police officer in the early ’90s, working the narcotics unit. She was researching date-rape drugs known as “roofies” and discovered a strange liquid on the streets of Hollywood that made everyone collapse and pass out.
No accurate statistics exist to account for all GHB-related deaths and usage, though research is ongoing.
And just because people take it casually doesn’t mean they can’t get hooked. GHB is addictive, according to Project GHB, with withdrawal syndrome lasting 10 to 14 days.
When it first became popular, Palamar says, “a lot of people felt it was the safest drug, because you only need a little sip.”
If calibrated correctly, the effects of GHB last about an hour and then, theoretically, users feel fine afterward, Palamar explains. But it’s very hard to take the right dose.
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How GHB became a big problem
Palamar used to go clubbing all the time 20 years ago in New York. He’s straight but favored gay clubs’ music selections. That’s where he first noticed GHB.
And he observed it started really making an impact by late-2000.
“People started getting really scared wondering what the hell is this?” he says “People called it liquid ecstasy. And it became a big problem.”
The government took notice as stories of date rape associated with GHB began to appear in the news more frequently.
In March 2000, GHB was designated as a Schedule I drug, a drug with high potential for abuse, according to the DEA. Narcolepsy medication Xyrem, however, is an FDA-approved GHB product.
Today, the majority of GHB use is recreational, meaning people administer the drug to themselves to get high. In doing so, users may build up a tolerance quickly, so they’ll up their dosage or combine GHB with other drugs to get the desired effect.
People may also take analogues of GHB, or other chemicals that convert to GHB once in the body (called GBL or BDO). Often they’re playing guessing games when it comes to how much of those analogues to take.
Micheal Rice has had a front-row seat to the way GHB use can spiral. He chronicled the convergence of crystal meth and GHB use in his documentary, “party boi.”
“They use the high for the stimulant and then they use a depressant to even them out after a few days, so they could be able to eat and get sleep,” he says.
In his film, he wanted to highlight how the issue is particularly pronounced for young Black, gay men.
Plus, he says, GHB can be used as a means for sexual abuse.
Drugs and sex
GHB has long been associated with sexual activity, given the drug depletes users’ inhibitions. Those who take GHB in club or party settings may do so before engaging in pre-planned (or hopeful) sexual activity.
No one should be taking illegal drugs and GHB is dangerous, but some people will inevitably still try it. Poratta says it’s important anyone who takes GHB take matters into their own hands.
“If you’re making it, you have the opportunity to at least try to control the dosage,” Porrata says. But if someone puts it in your drink or hands you a bottle, it can be lethal.
Yet a lot of people who use GHB frequently are not worried about falling unconscious, Palamar says. They assume “if they do … they’re probably just going to fall asleep for an hour.” But they should be vigilant.
“The dangerous part is if you’re alone,” Palamar says. Or if the user is with someone who could take advantage of them.
Raising awareness about GHB in the US
Reports of deaths and rapes related to GHB have surfaced over the years in the U.S., but evidently haven’t risen to the highest levels of public consciousness.
Dozens died in the U.K. between 2011 and 2015 due to GHB or GBL – 29 just in 2015, according to a study.
As such in Europe, it’s become part of a bigger conversation around men who have sex with men and “chemsex,” the umbrella term used there to describe when people intentionally take substances before sex.
But the U.S. lacks messaging around GHB overdoses, according to Christian Grov, a professor of public health at the CUNY School of Public Health. In Europe there’s guidance down to appropriate millimeter amounts; a petition launched last month asked the government to reclassify the drug, ensuring harsher penalties.
Will the U.S. move toward more open conversations about GHB?
“I worry that this drug is going to be increasingly accepted among partiers,” Palamar says. “It was never really accepted, like fully, but I’m worried about increasing acceptance towards the drug.”
And with each use, there’s more risk of dependence, Porrata says. Users get to the point where they “can’t function without it. ” And each time they take it, there’s there risk that things can go wrong. She warns users need to be alert. “It does go wrong.”
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