DOCTORS have warned about the effects of a new drug known as GBH used in nightclubs in Britain. And there are concerns that, like ecstasy, it could become fashionable in Ireland.
The drug, gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB), was developed in the US as an anaesthetic. It has sedative powers like alcohol, and taken in excess it can induce a coma and respiratory failure. It is commonly referred to as GBH, a jocular reference to the police shorthand for Grievous Bodily Harm.
In the British medical journal, the Lancet, doctors in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Newcastle-upon Tyne have warned people about the effects of the drug. A man collapsed in a nightclub recently and had to be put on a ventilator for 12 hours.
The drug is also called Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X and Fantasy. It is usually sold as a clear liquid that tastes slightly salty.
A Garda source said there was no record of seizures of the drug in Ireland, but it was believed to be creeping into use in Britain.
According to the British Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence, a bottle is selling at up to £15. In 1990 the US Food and Drug Administration declared it an "unauthorised new drug".
The drug is popular among bodybuilders because it promotes what is known as "slow wave sleep" during which growth hormones are secreted into the body.
Like alcohol GBH can give the user a feeling of euphoria and decrease inhibitions, leading to an increased sex drive. There have been reports of nausea, vomiting, stiffening of the muscles, disorientation, convulsions, coma and respiratory collapse.
