If you have a little too much GHB, the consequences can be fatal. The effects of GHB can generally be felt 10 to 20 minutes after you take it, and can last up to four hours, depending on the dose. Signs of addiction include using GHB more often than intended, and continuing to use it despite negative consequences. People who use GHB regularly can develop tolerance to the effects of the drug, which means they may need to take more to get the desired effect.
Regular use can also cause physical dependence. People who are physically dependent on GHB will experience withdrawal symptoms if they abruptly stop using the drug. Withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety, tremors, inability to sleep and other unpleasant, potentially dangerous effects, including paranoia with hallucinations and high blood pressure.
People who are physically dependent on GHB should seek medical help to ease withdrawal. GHB withdrawal can be life threatening. Since GHB is illegal, there are no controls over the strength and purity of the drugs produced. Deaths have been reported. When GHB is taken with alcohol or other drugs, the effects are more intense, and the risk of toxic effects and overdose increases.
GHB-related deaths usually involve other drugs, such as alcohol. GHB is a potent sedative, causing users to lose consciousness and fall into a deep sleep from which they might not wake for several hours. When in a GHB sleep, people may have trouble breathing and convulsions can occur.
Users sometimes wake to discover that alarmed friends or family have rushed them to hospital for emergency care. Driving after taking GHB is extremely dangerous because sleep may come on suddenly. Driving or operating machinery while under the influence of GHB, or any drug, increases the risk of physical injury to the user and to others. Overdosing on GHB can lead to profound coma, which may be neurotoxic to the brain, especially to the developing brain of a young adult.
In patients admitted to the hospital for using GHB, bradycardia slowed heart rate and hypothermia drop in body temperature are commonly reported. If you or someone you care about suddenly feels overheated, sick, weak, or dizzy and hasn't knowingly taken drugs or drank excessive amounts of alcohol , it could be a sign of GHB intoxication.
The risk of overdose with GHB is high. If you or someone you care about experiences any of the following signs of overdose call or poison control at There is a common misconception that it is safe to take club drugs like GHB in small amounts. But GHB is unpredictable and the strength can vary from batch to batch; even one pill can cause an adverse reaction.
People who use GHB recreationally can build tolerance and need to take more and more of the drug to achieve the desired effect.
Many people become dependent on the drug to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. For most accurate results, the Office on Women's Health recommends that you wait to urinate, bathe, shower, brush your teeth or hair, eat or drink, or change your clothes until after you've been examined and tested. Like other drugs, how long GHB stays in your system depends on how much of the drug was taken as well as your sex, weight, metabolism, and hydration and activity levels.
Regular use of GHB can quickly lead to physical and psychological dependence. Unfortunately, people who misuse GHB often have difficulty recognizing a problem with their GHB use, in part because the drug has the ability to wipe out memory after taken. If you or someone you love is looking to stop using GHB, it's best to seek a medically-supervised detox, which may include a tapering process to control and reduce the risk of dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
Given its association with sexual assault and rape, if you believe you have been given GHB, don't wait to reach out for help. If you or someone you love is misusing GHB, your healthcare provider can help recommend resources for a safe, medically-supervised detox as well as inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment including disease education, counseling, and support groups. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration. Gamma hydroxybutyric acid. Updated GHB pharmacology and toxicology: acute intoxication, concentrations in blood and urine in forensic cases and treatment of the withdrawal syndrome. Curr Neuropharmacol. Experiences of gamma hydroxybutyrate GHB ingestion: a focus group study.
J Psychoactive Drugs. Polydrug use among club-going young adults recruited through time-space sampling. Subst Use Misuse. Adverse effects of GHB-induced coma on long-term memory and related brain function. Drug Alcohol Depend. Path2Help Not sure what you are looking for? Find out more. Withdrawal Giving up GHB after using it for a long time is challenging because the body has to get used to functioning without it.
These symptoms can include: confusion and agitation anxiety and panic rapid heart rate tremor vomiting paranoia visual and auditory hallucinations delirium. Recent use of GHB by people aged 14 or older is very low. Australians first try GHB in their mid-twenties. A primer of drug action. New York: Worth Publishing; Darke S, Lappin, J. The Clinician's Guide to Illicit Drugs.
United Kingdom: Silverback Publishing [ Government of Canada. 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.
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