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NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHES TO EDUCATE CLUBBERS OF THE DANGERS OF GHB
Added: (Tue Jun 03 2008)
www.knowghb.org.uk is a new website aimed at UK clubbers to educate on the dangers of GHB in the UK.
The new website aims to revolutionise the way that the UK gay and mainstream clubbing scene thinks about the most common and fashionable drug and is being updated daily. Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB) is a Class C controlled substance, however Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL), which when ingested produces GHB in the body is easy to obtain via websites and on the floor sales people and is legal to obtain.
The primary mission of the site is to ban the legal sale of GBL on the web and on the streets. The site has opened an active online petition to 10 Downing Street to make the sale of GBL illegal in the UK as it is in the US.
GHB is massively misunderstood in the UK. It is introduced to clubbers as a liquid ecstasy that is easy to obtain, cheap and less dangerous than its counterparts. In reality if mixed with alcohol or taken in too higher dosage it can kill within minutes. The biggest false statement of all is that this substance in not addictive. After only a few weeks of usage users run the risk of addiction. Long term use or addiction leaves the user susceptible to long term mental problems such as depression, stress, anxiety even leading to paranoid schizophrenia and the possibility of suicide.
Information about GHB addiction has not been widely available in the UK. Many UK drug organisations have little or no information relating to the side effects of long term use. Jay Evans, a sufferer of GHB addiction and the website creator explains why:
“GHB or GBL is very common on the Gay club circuit, especially in London. I got involved with the substance believing it was less dangerous than any other. I was taking ‘G’ for many months and the high was like no other. I started to realise soon that the stresses and strains of life seemed much easier and I started to use the substance more – several times daily. Before I knew what had happened I was addicted.
It wasn’t until several months had passed that I realised I had started to lose my friends. I was starting to go out of the house less, only leaving to shop and go clubbing. G really had taken over my life”.
The real problem came when Jay attempted to stop taking the substance on a regular basis.
“I moved out of London and back to my roots to be with family and close friends. It was at this point that I decided to stop taking the G. Within only a few hours of the first day I became paranoid, started to think that everyone was conspiring against me. I was afraid to leave the house – I didn’t know where to turn. I started to feel like there was no way out so I started taking again”.
Jay then approached his GP and was referred to a counsellor and drugs service. Sadly no record of GHB addiction was available and Jay was forced to research this for himself. Eventually Jay found an American organisation Project GHB (www.projectghb.org) who offered what was required to treat and manage his condition.
Jay is one of many young clubbers who are addicted to GHB. Project GHB have tried to make waves in the UK with little success so it is hope that knowghb.org.uk will be the first step to educate young people on the dangers of this potentially lethal substance.
The petition to ban the sale of GBL in the UK is currently available at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/gblsale
ENDS
For more information on the website, or an interview please contact:
Jay Evans
Website Creator
Email: jay.evans@knowghb.org.uk
www.knowghb.org.uk
About GHB/GBL
GBL has accounted for many hospitalisations and even deaths relating to overdose. A small amount, approximately 1.5-2mls, is all that is required for the user to get a “high” that offers the user a euphoric, happy, uninhibited clubbing or party experience. However careful measuring into a sugary drink is not easy when in a club so overdose is very common.
GHB when mixed with alcohol and other regular club drugs can have severe side effects for the user and will result in the user eventually passing out. Clubs, especially on the gay scene, have had to double the size of their medic facilities to deal with the abundance of cases of GHB related illnesses.
It is when mixed with alcohol that the drug becomes very dangerous. Ingesting GHB in any form depresses the central nervous system which mixed with any other downer such as alcohol can reduce breathing rates to as few as 6 per minute.
GHB has also been labelled as a Date Rape drug in the past as the user is uninhibited and has an increased sexual drive. When given in a high dosage and spiked into a drink the target may pass out but their body remains in a state of motion making them a prime target for sexual predators.
When tested either in hospital or after death the drug is only detectable in urine for 8-12 hours and in the blood for 2-8 hours. Due to lack of knowledge of this substance many of the deaths have been unexplained or associated with other drugs that may have been ingested.
About knowghb.org.uk
Knowghb.org.uk was created by Jay Evans, a self confessed addict of GHB. The site is a not for profit website created only to offer education to those using or planning to use this substance. No other site in the UK can offer the inside knowledge, and the factual information obtained from medical resources in the USA.
KnowGHB.org.uk will continue to update the site over the coming months with real life accounts from observers and sufferers to offer UK users real information relating to the currently legal GBL.
The petition to the Prime Minister has been approved and the site hopes that by its deadline of the end of November we will have a significant number of signatures of support to make a real stand with the government.