GHB - What Kind of Drug Is It?
What Kind of Drug Is It?
GHB is an acronym for gamma hydroxybutyrate, also known as gamma hydroxybutyric acid. The "acid" in its name indicates just how dangerous the substance is. GHB acts as a depressant, which is a substance that slows down the activity of an organism or one of its parts. It slows both breathing and heart rates in the people who take it.
The drug occurs naturally in very tiny amounts in the human body. However, it is also created in a laboratory to be used illicitly, or illegally. The street version of the drug is made from harsh chemicals. This makes it one of the many so-called "designer drugs" of the 1990s. (A separate entry on designer drugs is available in this encyclopedia.) GHB is especially hazardous to humans because of its ability to cause addiction in users and because of its potential deadly effects.
Although GHB was developed for use as an anestheticA substance used to deaden pain. in the 1960s, its makers "later withdrew it from consideration for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of severe side effects reported by patients," explained M. Foster Olive in Designer Drugs. Decades later, GHB gained popularity among three different groups of users: 1) bodybuilders looking for greater muscle mass; 2) partiers at nightclubs and ravesOvernight dance parties that typically involve huge crowds of people, loud techno music, and illegal drug use. seeking a new kind of high; and 3) sexual predators searching for their next victim.
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