The Risks of Consuming GHB/GBL

As per the 2021 law, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has advised that the GHB would be put under the Class C category. On the other hand, the GBL will be in a Class B Category wherein the drug requires a user’s license if they buy it from the drugstore.

What propelled this law in the first place? GHB was manufactured in the US labs as a sedative before surgery. That drug, however, took the course while causing the person to get high. Even the GBL and the 1.4-BD drug caused similar results while also promoting growth and hence, became the choice drug by weight lifters.

The risks include the chance of an overdose causing death. Mixing the same with alcohol at the party may risk a person going unconscious. You may even suffer from severe withdrawal syndrome and even cause breathlessness and hospitalization. The sedative nature may cause a person to become incoherent and lead to becoming comatose. The other risk is that of going under or slipping away to an unconscious state.

How the Damage To the Body and Mind Happens

While it is necessary to rush the patient for private addiction treatment in the UK, at the earliest, you should also ensure they remain clean.

The biggest damage it might do to the body and mind is when people consume it in small quantities. This is where the challenge is as there is no big evidence of people treating it the same way as Benzodiazepine or alcohol. Those drugs and alcohol additions happen with time, when people start taking it more or more frequently, finally falling prey to it. The users then start doing their best to consume it by hook or crook and not stop it. The problem with the GHB/ GBL is that even in small doses, people might consume. It means they can access it easily and thereby slip into dependence even more quickly.

This is a club drug, and users started slipping a little bit of this liquid into their drinks to feel energetic and confident with time. The fact that it works as an aphrodisiac also makes matters worse with time. Hence, it was also beginning to be sold as a date rape drug, making it more unsafe than ever.

The users who take it find effects creeping in 10 to 20 minutes itself, but it depends on the food you eat at the time of ingestion. Also, you may feel sleepiness or grogginess hitting you in 2 hours.

Though some might call GBL to be causing more significant damage because it is a Prodrug or earlier form of the GHB, its not good too. The drug can cause overdose and, nonetheless, riskier.

Addiction and Withdrawal from GBL/GHB

Whether you consume GHB or GBL, both are addictive especially depending on how frequently you consume it. If you have several weeks gap between the first consumption and the second, the chance of dependence will be low. But if the quantity and the frequency of consumption is more, it might result in withdrawal symptoms. If you notice your friend is pouring it out into his glass regularly, do not delay booking an appointment with the doctors at Rehab Healthcare (Rehab HC).

Mood swings, anxiety, depression, and hunger pangs are common, along with a host of other more serious ones like slipping into an unconscious state and others. With timely help, and medical treatment, including the 12-step program, coming out of this situation is still possible.