What is GHB
Like a few other recreational drugs, GHB can be made in laboratories at home, using ingredients that you might already have on hand or have easy access to at grocery stores nationwide. It is classified as a Schedule 3 drug in some forms, the middle classification available by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the United States, but in pure or homemade form it is usually categorized as Schedule 1 currently.
Ingredients of GHB
You might be surprised to learn that GHB in street form has many ingredients common to industrial-strength floor strippers and heavy-duty cleansers. A few drugs intended for use as sexual performance enhancers or for aid in muscle building also contain GHB ingredients. Because it has ingredients found in medications and supplements approved by the FDA, it is only classified as a Schedule 3 drug, or one that can be prescribed by a doctor and sold by a licensed pharmacist but not manufactured or sold by an unlicensed person.
The common ingredient is gamma-butyrolactone, although 1,4-butanediol is also found in both GHB and some other legal drugs. Because these ingredients are found in the above-mentioned solvents, the sale of industrial cleaners is restricted and strictly monitored by law enforcement individuals across the nation, especially in GHB hotspots where there have been more reports of usage.
When made in a laboratory at home, many manufacturers of GHB mix alcohol with the drug, because some forms of alcohol already have trace amounts of the drug (such as some beers and wines) rendering it virtually tasteless, odorless, and colorless. Aside from a slight taste of salt, the drug cannot be detected by the human eye once mixed with a liquid. This is one of the main reasons that so many people choose it for use at parties, social events, and dates.
Some people mix GHB with other recreational drugs with similar properties, such as Ecstasy, in order to heighten and maximize the effects. Mixing with products such as alcohol or other street drugs increases the potency of the GHB, but it can also lead to faster and more serious side effects, especially in young people or those who have never tried drugs before.
Other Uses for GHB Ingredients
We have already mentioned that GHB is found in a few drugs that are currently legal for use in the United States as long as they are ingested by someone with a valid prescription or in a product legal in the US. This includes:
- Industrial cleansers
- Varnishes
- Heavy-duty floor strippers
- Muscle building products
- Sleep aids
- Sexual enhancement drugs
- Dietary supplements
- Anesthetic (no longer used, but used experimentally for this purpose in the 1960s)
GHB is also used by many top computer companies to clean circuit boards for technological equipment.
It has other medicinal properties as well, and in the experimental stages the drug was tested for use with narcolepsy and alcoholics, since it relaxes the body and aids in sleep. Today, doctors still use GHB for this purpose, although it is only prescribed rarely due to the potential for abuse. It was also used as a method of treating clinical depression.
Why People Use GHB
There are many reasons why someone might want to use a drug like GHB, some of which are easy to understand and others that are not only illegal but immoral and hurtful. For instance, GHB is the drug most often associated with date rape, ahead of all other drugs, including rohypnol, more commonly called “roofie.” Date rape becomes more popular each year, since it is quickly becoming so simple to combine the ingredients and slip them into a drink with or without the other person’s permission.
Some people love GHB for other reasons, since it is a euphoria-producing drug that results in heavy sleep and memory loss for a short period. People who want to escape reality for a while like the drug for this purpose, regardless of what may happen to them during the period of unconsciousness. In most cases, it takes less than half an hour for the drug to take full effect, and the effects last up to six hours.
GHB is also used as a stress reliever, since it lowers feelings of anxiousness and nervousness, making it a prime target for teenagers and young adults dealing with the mounting pressures of life. It leaves the body quickly, virtually undetectable through standard drug testing after a very short time, making it difficult to treat or diagnose issues with the drug. This drug lowers your inhibitions, so it is commonly used to break the ice and get people ready for interacting with the people they are most attracted to in sexual terms.
Other Uses for GHB
Central nervous system depressants like GHB were originally intended for use as anesthetics, although it was soon discovered that although it resulted in short-term memory loss and unconsciousness, it was also capable of causing coma and death taken even in small amounts. It is not an effective form of pain relief either, so during the 1960s the United States stopped experimentation with GHB for use as a general anesthetic.
It was also originally produced as a growth hormone, similar to what is naturally produced by the body in trace amounts. In Europe and a few other parts of the world, GHB is still on the market for this purpose, although it is illegal in the United States in many forms without strict regulation. It functions very well to help build muscle for bodybuilders and gymnasts, but the risk of overdose is so strong that it is strictly regulated in order to prevent accidental overdose and death.
Quick Summary
Because there are such a wide variety of legal products that contain GHB or its main ingredients, it is one of a very few drugs that have been placed on more than one Schedule by the DEA. It depends on the product, the availability of other products to combine in order to form the GHB for human consumption, and similar factors. It can be bought in some stores, prescribed in a few forms, or purchased online from some parts of the world.
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