• GHB Facts (Liquid Ecstasy)

    Street Terms: Liquid ecstasy, soap, scoop, easy lay, Georgia home boy, grievous bodily harm, liquid X, goop

    What is It?

    GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate or gammahydroxy-butyric acid) is a depressant that is usually available in odorless and tasteless liquid form. It can also be sold as a powder or pill. It takes effect 10-20 minutes after it is ingested and its effects typically last up to four hours.

    GHB has been used in "date rape." It can be colorless, tasteless, and odorless, and has been added to beverages and ingested without the victim's knowledge. It can also cause anterograde amnesia (loss of memory), which makes it difficult for victims to recall what happened or identify his/her attacker.

    Different amounts of GHB have different effects on people. In other words, no amount is safe.

    Risks

    Coma (at high doses) / Seizures / Nausea and breathing difficulties (when combined with alcohol or other drugs) / Poisoning / Overdose / Death (at high doses) / Addiction and withdrawal effects (including insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and sweating) / Assault or sexual assault "date rape" (due to the pills being colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added to beverages to ingest unbeknownst to the victim, who becomes unable to defend him/herself because of the drug's effects) / Anterograde amnesia (inability to remember events experienced while under the influence of the drug)