How would GHB compare to opiates?

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim hopes this question isn't a little naive but swim has never tried GHB.He has heard some say it is like being drunk,others like benzos,and some like an opiate.What exactly would GHB really compare to?As a fan of downers of every type this drug is naturally intriguing to swim.

[MrG]

Perfectly valid question there Orchid and I will try to answer it as honestly as possible.

GHB taken at pharma doses (4g or more) will not usually feel like anything because the user will simply be knocked out for four hours or so. When they wake, they will feel alert and refreshed but not much else. Yes there are people who like to get into pissing contests about how much of a dose they can take without passing out but the nature of GHB actually requires a more thoughtful approach.

Multiple small doses is the key.

GHB *can* feel very subtle and leave the user simply very sociable and chatty with anxiety becoming a distant memory
GHB *can* feel like being enjoyably drunk without the nausea or accompanying shitty behaviour
GHB *can* feel somewhat euphoric and empathic, music can become quite uplifting
GHB *can* feel like an aphrodisiac and offer a very sensual sexual experience
GHB *can* feel VERY euphoric (usually about the time the user is about to pass out/sleep because at that point they are very close to the edge of the consciousness envelope)
GHB *can* feel mellow and gouchy (especially when done with mj)
GHB *can* really help round out the sharp edges on stimulants

Also

GHB *can* make someone in a bad mood become *really* driven by their anger
GHB *can* make someone suffering from serotonin depletion obsessive and compulsive
GHB *can* make someone pass out without warning resulting in physical injury
GHB *can* make someone delirious yet still mobile resulting in possible harm
GHB *can* kill you if combined with other CNS suppressants such as alcohol or benzo's

As for how it compares to opiates, it really is nothing like an opiate. In SWIM's opinion, an opiate can create a really couch-locked head space where thoughts can float and the user can dream while not asleep. That state on GHB could not be maintained without the user falling asleep.

Those who are familiar with GHB will know that it has many states, all dose dependent.

On the whole though GHB is pretty good at offering a fairly wide variety of states depending on what the user wants to achieve and, once they are familiar with how their personal dosing regimes go, it usually delivers.

GHB is not, unless purposely dosed 24/7 for a period, addictive. It does not compel the user to seek more, it does not make them fiend for it, it does not give them withdrawal symptoms.

It doesn't even give them a hangover.

"oh but that's terrible, you can't give a purely one sided viewpoint on a substance, you have to say how harmful it can be" I hear some users say.

I answer this:

Ok then, provide me with proof of any negative aspects of GHB use that are not simply the result of someone using it inappropriately.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Good informative post
	Good comparisons. Very thorough.
	perfect commenst

[Pondlife]

GHB doesn't have the feeling of warmth that opiates have, but it doesn't have the itch or constipation problems either. There's also no noticeable tolerance for SWIM - certainly nothing like there is for opiate use.

I'd say that it's closer to alcohol than opiates (don't know enough about benzos to comment). However it's not at all the same as alcohol. In particular, it doesn't seem to make a person as foolhardy as alcohol does, and it wears off a lot quicker.

The other big difference between G and lots of other drugs is that it doesn't seem to be physically addictive at all. SWIM will often abstain for weeks at a time, and feels absolutely no compulsion.

The effects seem to be quite dependent on the setting as well. If SWIM is active, G seems to help with socialising and even seems to add energy somehow, but in a quiet relaxing environment the feeling is more sedating and sleepy.

[Pino]

GHB feels the most like benzo's -the short acting variants, which always seems to be more euphoric to swim-, but it has a much more euphoric edge.

It is the least like opiates. It is more like combining benzo's and alcohol -which is a dangerous practice-. It has as pro it doesn't affect short term memory as much as benzos and alcohol.

Even at high dosages the user is still in control, however it can become really difficult to inhibit ones impulses. Aggressiveness, extreme libido, social inappropriate behavior are all possible. The same as with alcohol, only one is more energetic than on alcohol. Luckily one (as said above) is also more in control. This goes accompanied with a very euphoric feeling (insane euphoric feeling). Mostly this is a signal one has taken too much. This will end in a) puking or b) passing out.

On more normal levels, all anxieties seem to disappear. The user feels itself relaxed. It is nice to go out and a lot of energy can be drawn from the experience. There is a euphoric feeling attached to the experience. The body feels numbed in a nice way. Pain is dulled away -this it has somewhat in common with opiates-. This is also a bit dangerous, because pain will not be experienced as strong as normal, it is possible to damage oneself. The mind just feels elevated, happy, sociable and strong -this comes along with impulsivity, more prone to take risks, boldness-. It is a good anti-depressant. Even in small amounts. Swim uses it in dosages of 0.5 ml (0.55 gram 99.9% GBL, will probably compare to something like 0.7 g of GHB? Swim mostly uses GBL, because he hasn't found differences of effects between the two.) dosage to elevate a bad day. Of course it shouldn't be used for real problems, but it is fine to use for a day in which one has to repair your bicycle in the rain to have a date with someone, who you dislike. It will make things bearable. Such a small dose is almost undetectable to the user, but it will elevate mood significantly.

No addiction is to be expected, when used with care. As MrG said, this isn't a substance, which should be used 24/7. Addiction to GHB is a terrible thing. Also it is not the most forgiving drugs, when dosed wrong. So use a good scale and know the strength of the GHB (the best thing to do is to produce it swiyself from GBL).

[Pondlife]

Originally Posted by Pino

Swim uses it in dosages of 0.5 ml to elevate a bad day.

Is that 0.5 ml of "standard strength" 1g/5ml GHB? If so, that would be only 0.1g of GHB, which I would have thought much too low to have any effect at all.

I've not thought of trying such low doses before, and the potential for a subtle mood lifting is quite interesting.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Well swim guesses the only way to know is to try.Swim doesn't like alcohol very much at all but this sounds similar yet different.Swim has major issues with anxiety and dwelling on problems.Swim also has a very addictive personallity so something without much tolerance could also be the thing for swim.Swim is just in need of a new experience.Grade A informative posts from all!

[Pino]

Originally Posted by pondlife

Is that 0.5 ml of "standard strength" 1g/5ml GHB? If so, that would be only 0.1g of GHB, which I would have thought much too low to have any effect at all.

I've not thought of trying such low doses before, and the potential for a subtle mood lifting is quite interesting.

My excuses it is about GBL. The stuff swim mainly uses -he doesn't find the effects of the substances different-. It would compare to somewhat less than 0.7 grams of GHB. Luckily GBL is stronger than GHB, the other way around could be problematic. GHB is used (or maybe was) off the record as anti-depressant.

An interesting quote from someone I don't know:

As an anti depressant your dose should be low enough that you don't feel
"relaxed" by it. you should just feel more able to function. For me that
varied between .5 grams every 4-6 hours and 1 gram every 4-6 hours. Dosing
like this should not cause addictive problems if you are clinically
depressed. After about 2-3 months you should discontinue use for several
days, to see if the depression remains.

[chrisdahl]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Swim hopes this question isn't a little naive but swim has never tried GHB.He has heard some say it is like being drunk,others like benzos,and some like an opiate.What exactly would GHB really compare to?As a fan of downers of every type this drug is naturally intriguing to swim.

GHB is in in a league of its own,nothing like benzos and nothing like booze except at high doses when you get the knock out effect

[S4B]

How is this substance when it comes to sexual libido? Also, what other nicknames does this substance have?

[Pino]

It enhances ones libido. This effect increases with the dosage. Around sleep dosages the libido enhancing qualities get quite extreme. After a whole evening of use on a party, ones libido is also immensely increased. It can grow to insane properties. Never have experienced something a like. Swim thinks the whole point it gets uncontrollable at some point. One just can't stop thinking about sex anymore.

[MrG]

Originally Posted by S4B

How is this substance when it comes to sexual libido? Also, what other nicknames does this substance have?

Google GHB and I am sure you will find a whole raft of ridiculous monikers given to this substance. For some reason, LE and the Mainstream Media seem to revel in coming up with the most ridiculous names for illicit substances in an attempt to create an aura of mystique and mystery around them. Purely for the Great Uninformed(tm) to be able to recoil in horror and fear when they read these articles and hear the news reports.

It adds weight to an otherwise dull story.

"Area man arrested for being in possession of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate" - doesn't quite grab the shirt collar of the viewer or reader now does it?

"Area man arreted for being in possession of the date rape drug GHB, also known as Gamma-OH, Liquid E, Fantasy, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid X, Scoop, Water, Everclear, Great Hormones at Bedtime, GBH, Soap, Easy Lay, Salty Water, G-Riffick, Cherry Meth, and Organic Quaalude,"

Now *that's* what we're looking for! (BTW those names were simply cut'n'paste from an existing website, I shit you not).

[Pino]

Originally Posted by MrG

Grievous Bodily Harm

This one is the worst (in stupidity). Someone on a webpage, probably the same, commented:
Why don't we spell GHB as GBH, so it is a abbreviation of Grievous Bodily Harm. Yes, why not? Haha, swim was LHAO.

What misterG is trying to say, don't use nicknames. Keep it calling GHB or even better Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid. Most journalists can't remember that, if they hear it.

[Senor Gribson]

^^ i agree, the GBH name makes the least sense. grievous bodily harm is a criminal charge that tends to go with assault, and GBH is a punk band named after said charge.
the term was probably coined by LE or some other ignorants, who may or may not have confused GBH with GHB