GHB is Schedule I in the United States. This means it is illegal to manufacture, buy, possess, or distribute (sell, trade or give) without a DEA license.
Addictive Potential: Medium
Emergency Room Visits Yearly: Unknown
Mandatory Minimum Sentence: Not more than 20 years
Mechanism of Action: Increases the Neurotransmitter GABA(B) and stimulates the GHB receptor
Overview:
Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (4-hydroxybutanoic acid), commonly abbreviated GHB, is a therapeutic drug, an illegal drug in multiple countries, and a naturally occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits and almost all other living creatures in small amounts.
In a medical setting, GHB is used as a general anesthetic, to treat conditions such as insomnia, clinical depression, narcolepsy, and alcoholism, and to improve athletic performance. It is also used illegally under the street names Juice or Liquid Ecstasy, either as an intoxicant, or as a date rape drug. As well, the human body's cells naturally produce GHB. GHB is structurally related to the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate. As a drug it is used most commonly in the form of a salt. GHB is also produced as a result of fermentation and so is found in small quantities in some beers and wines.
It was placed in Schedule I in March 2000 after widespread recreational use. Uniquely, this drug is also listed in Schedule III for limited uses, under the trademark Xyrem.
Street Names:
Cherry meth
Fantasy
G-riffic
Jib
Liquid E
Liquid X
Organic quaalude
Salty water
Scoop
Sleep
Sleep-500
Soap
Vita-G
