Facts about GHB
FULL NAME: Gamma hydroxybutyrate acid or gamma hydroxybutyrate
ALSO KNOWN AS: Gamma 10, Georgia Home Boy, G-Riffick, Easy Lay, Liquid E, Liquid X, Salty Water
HISTORY: GHB first appeared in health-food stores in the 1980s as a sleep aid, weight loss agent, and bodybuilding supplement. The FDA removed the drug from shelves in 1990 and disapproved it for use permanently in the United States.
APPEARANCE: Colorless, odorless, slightly salty liquid, or white powder.
EFFECTS: Euphoria, giddiness, hallucinations, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, weakness, seizures, confusion, agitation, slowed respiration, unconsciousness, death
ANTIDOTE: None.
Samantha Reid, a fifteen year old, was slipped this 'date rape drug' into her Mountain Dew at a party in January 1999 by four men. After the men were convicted for the death of this teenager, three received a 15 year term for manslaughter.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has received 58 GHB deaths and more than 5,700 reports of overdoses since the drug's ban in 1990. These numbers are, however, those reported while the majority goes unreported.
Though the drug has been taken off the market, it is still available over the internet and through kits sold by other countries.
The colorless, odorless drug can be slipped in alcoholic or nonalcoholic drinks without detection. Between 20 and 60 minutes after ingestion, a person may experience vomiting, dizziness, nausea, weakness, seizures, and coma.
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