What is the gay party drug g

Standing among throngs of concertgoers at a Brooklyn music venue last year, Palamar spotted the bulky man with the contorted face nearby. He was struggling to remain conscious. Within minutes, the man succumbed, apparently to the suppressive effects of the drug, and collapsed to the floor.

Security staff raced over and carried him away. Back then, overdoses, particularly on GHB, were so common that some clubs hired private ambulances to avoid calls and police scrutiny. One club allegedly hid unconscious patrons in a back room without medical assistance. Exposures to GHB reported to poison control centers fell almost immediately.

But 20 years on, a new generation of recreational users — a disproportionate number of them gay and lesbianaccording to researchers — has rediscovered the drug.

People are taking GHB in clubs. Experts say we're not paying enough attention.

This illicit network generates millions of dollars each year and has spurred a small but growing crisis, for which federal regulators and the medical community appear ill-equipped and unprepared. Occurring naturally in the body, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid was first synthesized in a lab in the s. Although its application in medicine has always been limited, GHB has had various recreational uses.

In the s, health food stores marketed the party as a dietary supplement. In small doses — mere milliliters — GHB produces feelings of relaxation and confusion and heightens sexual arousal, lending to its allure as a gay drug. It can also cause amnesia and hallucinations. While not particularly addictive, the drug has a steep dose-response relationship, meaning the difference between experiencing euphoria and losing consciousness is a matter of a few drops of the clear, viscous liquid.

Overdoses can result in coma and respiratory arrest, which to an unaccustomed observer may appear as if the affected person has only fallen asleep. GHB overdoses surged in the United States during the s. Bythis number was nearing 5, In reacting to the growing crisis, Congress passed the Hillory J.

But unlike GHB, both chemicals have widespread use in industrial manufacturing, which prevents them from being regulated as controlled substances. Even so, under the new law, the sale and distribution of either GBL or BDO could result in criminal prosecution if the seller knew the buyer would consume the chemical.

After the federal government targeted GHB, reports of its use began to drug. Bypoison control centers in the U. During that same period, online retail grew to offer new avenues for buying and selling GHB and its analogues under the guise of legitimate business. Inin its first major action against the sale of GHB, codenamed Operation Webslinger, federal agents busted four drug-trafficking rings that had used the internet to connect with buyers.

One of these operations, a mother-son team in Missouri, was accused of setting up a limited liability company called Miracle Cleaning Products to deal BDO online. Through their business, the duo could legally purchase the chemical in what the two U. Ultimately, the court sentenced the mother to 14 years in federal prison and the son to more than eight years.