GHB: What Parents Need to Know

GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) is a depressant. It's usually available as a clear liquid. It is known as a designer drug because it is made (usually in home basement labs) for the purposes of getting high.

Like Ecstasy, GHB is popular with club-goers and those who go to "rave" parties, including teens and young adults. When mixed with alcohol, it has a depressant effect that can cause someone to black out. This is why GHB is often called the date rape drug.

Liquid Ecstasy, G, Georgia homeboy, cups

Swallowed (in liquid or powder form, which is mixed with water, or as tablets)

GHB causes both a euphoric high (intense rush of happy feelings) and hallucinations. GHB has caused many young people to need emergency medical care. Because the liquid is odorless and colorless, it's sometimes slipped unknowingly into a person's drink.

Side effects of GHB use include drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and vision changes. People who take GHB may become unconscious (pass out), stop breathing, and go into a coma. GHB use can kill.

Because both GHB and alcohol are depressants, mixing the two is very, very dangerous and can be deadly — even if someone has only taken low doses of the drug.

Because of its serious effects, GHB has led to emergency medical care for many young people and has killed more users than the drug Ecstasy.