How does using GHB affect your family and friends?

GHB is a short acting drug that causes about four hours of effects, ranging from rapid and intense intoxication to extremely bizarre and potentially even violent behavior to the risk of coma and death.  The bizarre behavior may include sexual behavior not typical of the individual.  Incontinence (urine or fecal) is not uncommon.  Vomiting is very common and can add to the risk of death as the individual may lose the gag reflex and is at risk of literally drowning in their own vomit (someone overdosing on GHB should not be left lying on their back and unattended—GHB overdose is a 911 emergency).   Ongoing, regular use of GHB can lead to addiction and around the clock usage (dosing every one, two or three hours as an absolute necessity).  Long term use typically results in strange behavior, inability to maintain jobs, relationships, etc.  Addicts often withdraw into themselves, becoming a recluse.  Some even become too withdrawn to go out into public at all or resort to late hours so they won’t encounter very many people at grocery stores, for example.  Sexual behavior can also change, and sex and/or masturbation may become an obsession.    Missing a dose puts the addict into withdrawal within a couple of hours.  Withdrawal starts with agitation, soaring heart rate and blood pressure, profuse sweating, etc.  It escalates at some point into wild hallucinations.  GHB withdrawal syndrome last 10-14 days and requires medical attention (though sadly very few treatment facilities or ERs have any idea how to handle this).  Days 4-6 are often the most severe.  Thus uninformed treatment centers may release them in 3 or 4 days and the worst is yet to come.  Withdrawal from GHB, untreated, can be fatal.  Plus, withdrawal and the aftermath of GHB addiction may lead to suicidal behavior.  This entire syndrome has devastating effects on family and friends.  They are unsafe to drive a vehicle on GHB and this becomes a huge issue for a mother and children who now fear riding in the car with this individual.  It is difficult to explain to anyone, but especially to children, the behavior changes which may include running through the house naked, passing out into their food at the table, passing out on the cough or in the yard or at the wheel of the car suddenly, etc.  GHB addicts are extremely difficult to get past the denial stage until they have literally lost everything.  This is true of drug addiction in general but is sometimes even harder with GHB addicts if they had no prior drug abuse issues, such as someone who is a bodybuilder or athlete and who had believe GHB was a healthy supplement.  Someone with no prior drug abuse issues doesn’t want to accept that they are now a “drug addict” with all the stigma that sadly involves.  This makes acceptance of the need for help difficult.  While their path to addiction may be different that someone who deliberately abused drugs and ended up addicted, their situation is now the same---chemical dependence with a tough road home to health.