GHB. Just say no
I worked as a medic at some of the more "interesting" clubs in the Vauxhall area. One of these (not being named) was a hotbed of GHB (and GBL) use.

Now GHB is a nasty little motherfucker. Anything that is generally used as an anaesthetic agent and an ingredient in industrial cleaner falls under the category of "a bad thing" to me. Combine that with the fact that the promoter (an American cunt) would never let me call an ambulance due to the fact that it was bad publicity, left me in what can only be called "a slight predicament" on a number of occasions.

The medic room was a curtained of area of the main dancefloor. Noisy as sin, and hotter than Satan's banjo string. This is where the bouncers (good chaps, if not a little too keen on Bolivian marching powder and Special K) would drag their twitching victims.

One particular evening, somebody must have been selling some bloody potent GHB because I had 3 patients lying on the floor of my medic room all completely fucked off their nipples. 2 were completely unconscious, and 1 was twiching every now and then and vomiting.

The problem with GHB is that when mixed with alcohol, it can put you on the floor quicker than Josef Fritzl when the bailiffs come to visit. It also has a nasty habit of knocking off your respirations, especially when combined with diazepam.

Another chap was brought to me by security. This one was conscious, but had pupils like Sophie Ellis-Bextor's face and looked seriously under the influence of Teh Fear (TM).

When he was bundled into my first aid room, he looked around, shouted "lemons and cardboard" and collapsed in respiratory arrest.

One of the problems with this club was the lack of mobile reception. So any ambulance request had to go through the promotor (did I mention he was an American Cunt?) As always, he refused "oh don't worry. They aint that bad."

"No, I need an ambulance." This bloke might die."

"Leave it 10 minutes and see how he's doing."

American Cunt then wanders off to hoover up another party bag of ketamine.

I exchange a look with the security guard. One that plainly says "FUCKCUNTCOCKWANK" We need this bloke out of here. Pronto.

So we grab his arms and legs, and drag him across the dancefloor to the fire exit, where we call an ambulance to the back alley.

Of course, we tell the ambulance crew that he was "just found collapsed here. Honest." He gets rapidly removed to Tommy's, and I go back in to zombie-sit the rest of my little clan.

The end of the night comes and I go home. Just before I leave, the head of security comes over.

"Carrot, word to the wise, don't leave any personal stuff around tonight."

Err...OK, I think. I toddle off with all my stuff under my arms.

The next morning, an "anonymous" tip-off to the police leads to a raid, finding the promoter in his office with (and I quote) "a bag of crack the size of a grapefruit."

He now no longer promotes music.
( Undercovercarrot got done for gross misconduct on..., Wed 8 Apr 2009, 18:24, 6 replies)

Thats a brilliant story...
but whenever I read a post like this, I'm tempted to make up a story with a load of references to a made-up drug, all done in an off-hand, casual manner. No-one will ask what the hell I'm talking about because they'll be afraid to look uncool and out-of-touch with the latest drug slang.

This is my roundabout way of saying I have no fucking idea what GHB or GBL are.
( Spunk Murphy Tchaikovsky is a synonym for fanny, apparently, Wed 8 Apr 2009, 18:46, closed)

Google is your friend : )
.
( girlinthehole, Wed 8 Apr 2009, 19:09, closed)

You speak the truth.
gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, or GHB is a naturally-occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts.[1] It is also a neuroprotective therapeutic nutrient that is categorized as an illegal drug in many countries.[2] It is currently regulated in the US and sold by Jazz Pharmaceuticals under the name Xyrem[3] to treat cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy.

Historically, GHB has been used in a medical setting as a general anesthetic, to treat conditions such as insomnia, clinical depression, narcolepsy, and alcoholism, and to improve athletic performance.[4] It is also used illegally either as an intoxicant or as a date rape drug. GHB is naturally produced in the human body's cells and is structurally related to the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate. As a supplement/drug, it is used most commonly in the form of a salt.[5] GHB is also produced as a result of fermentation, and so is found in small quantities in some beers and wines. Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency is a disease which causes GHB to accumulate in the blood, producing similar effects to GHB.

gamma-Butyrolactone (γ-butyrolactone or GBL) is a hygroscopic colorless oily liquid with a weak characteristic odor and is soluble in water. GBL is a common solvent and reagent in chemistry and is used as an aroma compound, as a stain remover, as a superglue remover, as a paint stripper, and as a solvent in some wet aluminium electrolytic capacitors.

GBL is not active in its own right, its mechanism of action stems from its identity as a prodrug of GHB.

The hypnotic effect of GHB is enhanced by combination with alcohol. A 2003 rat study showed that GBL in combination with ethanol showed a potentiated hypnotic effect, as the sleep-timing measure was longer than both of the individual components combined.[3]

GBL is rapidly converted into GHB by lactamase enzymes found in the blood. GBL is more lipophilic (fat soluble) than GHB, and so is absorbed faster and has higher bioavailability; the paradox is that this can mean that GBL has a faster onset of effects than GHB itself, even though it is a prodrug. The levels of lactamase enzyme can vary between individuals, and GBL is not active in its own right, so people who have never tried GBL before may have delayed or fewer effects than expected; however, once someone has taken GBL a few times, the production of lactamase enzymes is increased and he/she will feel the effects like normal.

Because of these pharmacokinetic differences, GBL tends to be more potent and faster-acting than GHB, but has a shorter duration; whereas the related compound 1,4-butanediol (1,4-B) tends to be slightly less potent, slower to take effect but longer-acting than GHB.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Wed 8 Apr 2009, 20:20, closed)

Yup
What he said
( Undercovercarrot got done for gross misconduct on..., Thu 9 Apr 2009, 7:08, closed)

GHB is fucking dodgy stuff
It does nothing to you up to a certain point, then there's only a very small window of dosage between what gets you fucked in the way you're intending, and what seriously fucks you up. And it's bloody hard to figure out how much you're taking when you're pissed.

I've had one or two (really really) good experiences on it, and rather more bad ones. Haven't touched the stuff for ages, although I once took an illegal minicab driven by a fat middle-aged bloke off his face on it, and surprisingly enough he totalled the car.
(username1, Thu 9 Apr 2009, 10:39, closed)

Does this club...
do a night on the first Friday of the month that's promoted by word of mouth only?
(SarcasticBarSteward wants to be good at Photoshop when he grows up, Thu 9 Apr 2009, 11:16, closed)