City, Sate: VA
Date: January 28, 2002
Comments:

I never heard of GHB until I was at a friends party. A bunch of people had taken it and a friend said it was completely ok for me to take it, too. I didn't know anything about it except its name, and even that I couldn't remember the next day. I was given about a capful diluted with orange juice. I didn't feel anything, so a couple hours later the guy who was giving it out gave me a little less than a teaspoon without anything else. It was the nastiest thing I've ever tasted! Within 10 mins I was feeling pretty good. Then it seemed to be getting more intense and I felt like I was walking on air. Not too long after that I got too tired to stand then too tired too hold my head up. I fell asleep in a chair and woke up with my pants and underwear down and my shirt and bra pulled up. My tampon ( I was on my period) was shoved up inside me. At the time when I was woken up by some guy, I didn't realize any of these things. I ended throwing up a whole lot. It wasn't until I went to the bathroom I realized what had happened. My mom was in NC so I called my aunt who wasn't there at the time. I wasn't thinking clearly. I got into the shower. By the time my aunt had called me back I had already washed anything that could have been evidence off. I spent 8 hours at the hospital waiting to get checked and to talk to a detective. I didn't find out anything until some months later when the detective called and said they found semen. I know that some of it could have been prevented, but this was a house where I used to live and trusted the people in it. To this day, I still don't know who did what. I wont ever know exactly what happened and who it happened with. I was 17 at the time.

Comments:

I am currently a student at Bishop's University in Quebec, Canada. My roommate and another friend are actively a part of a touring program that acts out scenes of date rape and the use of GHB. They do this with a grant from the town and the women's center that is situated there. Because of this, I myself have learned more than I ever thought there was to learn about the drug and the actual laws surrounding date rape. For instance, in Quebec one can be charged if the other was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of a sexual encounter, regardless of consent. I myself have realized that there have been instances in my own life that I could have been a GHB victim myself, and not knowing for sure is the scariest thing. I talk to my roommate after she gets back from various high schools on her tour, and am completely shocked at the lack of information these children have, and all the myths they truly believe. I just want to thank your site and to say that there should be more out there like this one. It's 2002, I shouldn't have to carry an open knife with me at night, just because I'm a woman. And it's not even in a big city. I'm in a small town of about 4500, but I'm still scared to walk alone, when I have just as much right to feel safe. Keep up the page, and the fight.

From Trinka Porrata---We occasionally get emails like this one from Scott in New Jersey (who gave a phony email address, so he isn't terribly genuine). I'd like to share both his email and my response:

"You are idiots. I have been using GHB for months. I make it with GBL+NaOH+H2O and it helps me sleep! I only use 3 tsp per night(--deleted GBL+NaOH+his precise recipe--). Give it a rest, I'm a 35 year old Pharm-tech and know what I'm doing. It's not harmful as compared to Xanax or Soma!"

Scott--We get messages like yours now and then. I always reply that I'm glad to know that SO FAR you haven't had any bad effects. Stand by. So many, many of those addicted to GHB have told me to be "nice" to people like you, at least once, because there was a time that they talked just like you. And then GHB turned on them, took over their lives, costing them jobs, families, their health, etc. GHB doesn't grab everyone in its web, and some are "OK" using it longer than others, but for those who do get caught, it is devastating. And, for your information, GHB withdrawal for many is far worse than heroin withdrawal. Heroin withdrawal, though ugly, isn't considered life endangering. Withdrawal from alcohol, benzos (Xanax, for example) and GHB is indeed considered life endangering. So many have thought they too "knew" what they were doing (like the pharmacist in Canada who was using and supplying it to the USA but she's dead now).

You see, there comes a time when you may find yourself taking it more often, for more reasons, and then you have to have it, to sleep or for sex or to face the world. It sneaks up on you, they say. Once taking it more than once a day, the ride gets rougher. Sadly, you will be the very last to know. Loved ones, friends, co-workers are the first to realize that something is wrong with you. It may start with little things, like a head snap while brushing your teeth at night, shortly after dosing, and maybe you break the mirror, or hit your head on the sink and pass out on the bathroom floor. But you won't consider it a problem at first, just a fluke experience. Those around you may see this and other episodes, increasingly bizarre behavior that you flatly deny. We recommend that they video tape you at this point, because you just won't believe it otherwise. And you'll deny it's a problem as the dents start to mount on your car. Or maybe the drunk driving arrests will get your attention. Worse yet, innocent people who don't know you at all may get to know you the hard way--when you kill a loved one of theirs in a traffic accident, for example. One of our first inquiries when we started the GHB Addiction Helpline came forward because his buddy had hit a car head on, killing a three-year-old (in daylight in a company truck). We have had contact with more than 400 GHB addicts, the vast majority of them great individuals with varying introductions to the world of GHB. Most of them just like you.

I truly hope your luck with GHB continues to hold out. If it doesn't....When you need help, we'll be here to back you up. The last message I got like yours, well, he did provide his real email address and I wrote a similar message to him. Two hours later he called me. Said he recognized some of the symptoms I mentioned. It was starting to happen to him already and he wanted to stop before it got worse. Wise move on his part.

Trinka