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12 overdose at Melbourne dance party

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/21/2452087.htm

A dozen people had to be taken to hospital after overdosing at a dance party in Melbourne's Festival Hall last night.

Ambulance officer Lucas Anderson says the party-goers, in their late teens and early 20s, were treated for the effects of the drug GHB.

"Unfortunately, the nature of GHB, it's a very unpredictable drug," he said.

"It is difficult to police or control and the effects are variable.

"It would appear that there's been a large number of GHB-affected people, who've all come under the effects in a similar period of time."

The Australian Drug Foundation says the number of people who overdosed is a major concern.

The Foundation's chief executive, John Rogerson, says GHB is dangerous and unpredictable.

"The difficulty with all these drugs is we just don't know what they're made of, and they're made different ways by different people," he said.

"So because of that, it is such a high-risk strategy for kids, and luckily in this case, these kids weren't adversely affected to the point that risked their lives.

"But they've all ended up in hospital, which is something that all of us don't want to happen."

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"The difficulty with all these drugs is we just don't know what they're made of, and they're made different ways by different people," he said.

"So because of that, it is such a high-risk strategy for kids, and luckily in this case, these kids weren't adversely affected to the point that risked their lives.

I like the way it is the drug policy/situation and not the kids or the inherent risks of the drugs (while ive heard ghb to be quite dangerous) that are so criticised for this situation.

Real pity though, however good that none of them died.

Peace

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Why do people do it to themselves? This whole scenario is so avoidable. People that want to get wasted should stick to alcohol...as dangerous as the excess consumption of booze can be, I consider it much safer than placing one's life in the hands of street criminals cooking up drugs in a dirty lab somewhere cutting it with who knows what.

GHB is dangerous...what the hell are these kids thinking? :(

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Why do people do it to themselves? This whole scenario is so avoidable. People that want to get wasted should stick to alcohol...as dangerous as the excess consumption of booze can be, I consider it much safer than placing one's life in the hands of street criminals cooking up drugs in a dirty lab somewhere cutting it with who knows what.

GHB is dangerous...what the hell are these kids thinking? :(

Agreed. But again, this has much more to do with a drug policy problem rather than an actual problem with said drug. From what I've read (I have no experience with it) and heard it is among the most dangerous psychoactives, but I feel that any drug can be relatively safe if society would actually look at harm reduction and promote safe models for people to build off of, and of course a pure legal product in which overdose victims can seek medical help without fear of persecution. etc.

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I think ideally governments could fight hard drug use by endeavoring to heal and not punish the individual drug addict.

The first step should be prevention of addiction through education. This is far more preferable than the need to cure people. If we arm kids with knowledge telling them exactly how it is they are far more likely to make intelligent life choices for themselves. They may be offered a drug like GHB but they will know not to go there. Rehabilitation will be averted and lives/futures will be saved.

Secondly the government should make every effort to keep addicts and drug dealers separate. Hospitals/rehab centers should take addicts in without judgement or fear of prosecution. To be an addict is punishment in itself...nothing more is required from these people from society. Our focus should be to heal them. They may be rehabilitated in a safe environment.The dealers and manufacturers are the ones that should be punished. Make the penalties for trafficking and selling drugs tougher. Hit the dealer, rescue the addict and heal them.

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Just coz some kid wants to get high on something other than ethanol does not make him an addict...

Thinning your blood with a solvent.... especially in large amounts is not my idea of fun and until people (and the authorities) realize there are safe alternatives the drug issue will never be solved.

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Disagree to a massive extent with Phantom Turkey, your approach will NEVER work (IMO), also have to agree with stay puft, these overdoses are perhaps actually less likely to be people who are addicted to GHB, because the regular users are likely to be more experienced with use, have a reliable dealer and as such know the doses and know their limits (not that they might not push it too far also) but people who are randomly offered it at a party and take it not really knowing the dose or the strength of that particular batch (from what I've read and heard this is often a problem with GHB) are at higher risk of OD. GHB can be administered safely, and many people use it without issue, but as I say, the fact that so many people at the one party OD'd may suggest that there was a particularly potent batch going around at the party.

Peace

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Its probably the fact that GHB has such a step dosage curve, that its way to easy to overdose, and if alcohol is mixed into the equation it becomes an absolute nitghtmare to know what the curve is.

Not really recreational...! People once again are uneducated.....! The people selling it to them are the slime of the gutter.

H.

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I really can't share those views. The people selling it are only selling it because people want it.

And you make an important note that alcohol combined with GHB is not a safe combination, but people who don't regularly use the drug are unlikely to realise this, and even some who do use regularly may not know. So perhaps alcohol was also a significant factor.

Peace

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To me selling GHB at a party is akin to selling someone a pill that is loaded with a MAOI and speed..just absolutely irresponsible..the seller probably knows that the curve is steep and that alcohol is a real issue when combined..if he doesn't then thats even more irresponsible...its a Dance party people are going to be drinking or have drunk something prior to entry..!

H.

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Why do people do it to themselves? This whole scenario is so avoidable. People that want to get wasted should stick to alcohol...as dangerous as the excess consumption of booze can be, I consider it much safer than placing one's life in the hands of street criminals cooking up drugs in a dirty lab somewhere cutting it with who knows what.

GHB is dangerous...what the hell are these kids thinking? :(

You know G would be relatively safe if it were taken responsibly.

It usually comes in liquid form, and the saturation point of GHB in water is such that the liquid cannot be more potent than when it is saturated, and if a dose is measured assuming near-saturation then it's hard to go wrong. As mentionded alcohol is a nasty one to be mixing it with and probably contributes alot in these cases, people that don't realise this shouldn't be taking G in the first place.

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You know G would be relatively safe if it were taken responsibly.

It usually comes in liquid form, and the saturation point of GHB in water is such that the liquid cannot be more potent than when it is saturated, and if a dose is measured assuming near-saturation then it's hard to go wrong. As mentionded alcohol is a nasty one to be mixing it with and probably contributes alot in these cases, people that don't realise this shouldn't be taking G in the first place.

I agree with what you've said here, not that I'm too much of a fan of it myself..

If the education was there to advise dosage per kg and time between dosage and not to drink the damn stuff with alcohol there'd be much less of a problem. Nearly every overdose is a result of the alcohol combination.

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I really can't share those views. The people selling it are only selling it because people want it.

And you make an important note that alcohol combined with GHB is not a safe combination

In my experience alcohol has ABSOLUTY NO EFFECT on GHB and potency, but rather a combination of food PLUS alcohol will cause vomiting, & also because the food slows down the absorption so the person may take another dose believing the first to be ineffective, the double dose hits and they'll be unconscious and often puking.

I don't think alcohol has any bearing what soever, back when it was legal I used to love doing GHB with alcohol because it helped the sensation become full body.

It's just not a drug that should be drug dealed, as it's never a uniform standardised dosage & if you did decide it was a smart idea to deal it you're very probably a dumb guy and not dealing the correct dose, and the other problem is food in the stomach has a huge bearing on wheather the drug will be absorbed or wheather the person will become nauseous and vomit. I think it's a drug people should buy by the 50ml, always take on an empty stomach, and test at home how many drops they should take

What I noticed is that 3-4 drops was always a 'fun' amount, while 5 drops was borderline unconscious, and 6 drops was sleep. Alcohol didn't seem to make any differnece. Food in the stomach was the great evil. Just think of GHB as an anaesthetic. The reason you aren't allowed to eat the day of an operation is to stop you puking when given a general anaesthesia.

GHB should never be dealed as a single dose as you must put too must trust in a dumb drug dealer, who's never going mention about not taking with food in your stomach.

Edited by blog

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Don't you buy it in mLs? And therefore it's the consumer's responsibility to choose how many mLs they want?

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Don't you buy it in mLs? And therefore it's the consumer's responsibility to choose how many mLs they want?

I'd imagine in a nightclub scneario it's sold as a dose or doses. A dose of variable concentration which no amount of weighing or liquid measurement would help you know the correct dose, not that anyone is going to have gram scales or ml measures. It's not something that should be dealed per dose. It comes down to having trust in a dumb guy who's selling GHB,.

You shouldn't trust a dumb guy with your health.

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I think ideally governments could fight hard drug use by endeavoring to heal and not punish the individual drug addict.

So do i, but there is no money in that for anyone.

The first step should be prevention of addiction through education. This is far more preferable than the need to cure people. If we arm kids with knowledge telling them exactly how it is they are far more likely to make intelligent life choices for themselves. They may be offered a drug like GHB but they will know not to go there. Rehabilitation will be averted and lives/futures will be saved.

Education just leads to experimentation (the fact that drugs are so misrepresented by the Corpo-goverment doesn't help). let kids be kids!.

No drugs, no sex, no terror, no cotton wool....just a safe, happy as possible childhood is all they need.

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It's just not a drug that should be drug dealed, as it's never a uniform standardised dosage

You find me a drug that is sold illegally that is generally in a uniform standardised dose...and I will be impressed (By illegal I don't mean black market pharms).

Alcohol didn't seem to make any differnece

Ummmm... ok so GHB is a CNS depressent, and alcohol is also a CNSD, as such the two can combine to further depress the CNS function. This is a common cause of complication with these drugs, particularly when taken together. Mixing CNSD's is never a bright idea unless you are very very cautious with doses. So if I'm shitfaced at a party, and some guy rocks up and says yo man got some fantasy, and I in my inebriated state say 'fuck yeh brah' thinking its the greatest idea in the world, then I drink the liquid he gives me in a little soy sauce fish...assuming (without asking...is it his responsibility to tell me how much to take or is it mine to ask if I don't know?) that it is one dose (which, if i was sober it may have been)...but since I'm drunk my CNS becomes badly depressed, I collapse and stop breathing...while the GHB makes me sweat like I just hopped out of the shower.

Responsible use, as has been mentioned, is easily possible, the law on drugs makes it hard to regulate many of the things that if regulated would make drug use far far safer.

Peace

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On the news the reporter said something to the effect of "with a street name like grievous bodily harm you can't be too surprised". Well, smartarse, what about ECSTASY? Do they go around telling the kidlets that you shouldn't take pingers because it'll make you feel fucking fantastic?

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On the news the reporter said something to the effect of "with a street name like grievous bodily harm you can't be too surprised". Well, smartarse, what about ECSTASY? Do they go around telling the kidlets that you shouldn't take pingers because it'll make you feel fucking fantastic?

LMAO...its GHB...not GBH.... :lol:

H.

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LMAO...its GHB...not GBH.... :lol:

hahahaha, my exact reaction when i heard this news report. Happen to be in the back seat of the car with the mother driving, so i tried to keep the grin as discreet as possible.

Though mayhaps it really is it's streetname..? I wouldn't know, I'm not savvy in that area..

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I think that 'street name' all started with a news paper article back in the late 90's when it first made a major appearance on the 'scene', after that all the papers and news programs were calling it that as if it was always its name..

Probably just some slack fear mongering jurno that mistyped GHB into google as GBH and found the term Grievous Bodily Harm and bingo!

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OH fuck off... not more critically acclaimed top notch journalism ...it just gets better and better...!

H.

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being someone that was in the 'rave scene' for years, i used to take GHB most weekends.

it was usually the people that used it all the time that would most likely OD, not people that were being introduced to it for the first time. most of the hardcore GHB users were attention seeking fucking morons, that used it recklessly on purpose. these people have no respect for themselfs.

after all the times i had taken it, there was probably only 2 times where people were worried about me, where as other people had got into that state countless times.

it all comes down to using drugs responsibly, and knowing how much you can handle.

and also, in my experience, i have NEVER brought a single dose of GHB in an unmeasured container, nor have i come across anybody selling them. it is normally brought in a 20ml bottle, and then your on your own on measuring out each dose which is done with a syringe.

and to the person that said alcohol doesn't affect GHB, surely you havn't had much experience with the both of the two together, because if you were pissed, and you had some G, you should DEFINITELY feel much more of a difference. and where were you getting this super powered GHB from anyway? 3-4 DROPS? and you say you should buy it in 50ml bottles? that would last you a months, if not years. my usual dose used to be like 2.5-3 mls (that's about 50-60 drops)

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