Banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 1990, gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), an alleged aphrodisiac and muscle enhancer, continues to wreak havoc.
~~ New York Times ("Love Hurts")

The popularity of date rape drugs--like the clear, slightly salty-tasting liquid GHB--has prompted bar owners and law enforcement agencies around the state to launch aggressive public awareness campaigns.
~~ Los Angeles Times (Dirmann)

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, is known as a date-rape drug because it is often used on sexual assault victims. It is also gaining popularity as a recreational drug.
~~ Minnesota Daily (Olson)

GHB is so new, experts say, that few are aware of its danger. And at the raves, it's becoming the rage.
~~ CNN ("Trendy Drug")

These reports luridly describe GHB as "an alleged aphrodisiac and muscle enhancer" that "continues to wreak havoc," as a "date-rape drug," as a "recreational drug," and as a "new" and popular drug at "raves." These usually credible news sources deride GHB as a threat to society with little legitimate use. Indeed, a casual survey of media coverage of GHB from 1990 to 2000 indicates that these reports are far from exceptional, with ABC, NBC, the Associated Press, and other major news outlets consistently reinforcing these notions, often with remarkably similar terminology: GHB, designer drug. GHB, date rape drug. GHB, deadly new rave drug.

But despite the media's consensus, these implications are egregiously false.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's own statistics, GHB has been "linked" to 58 deaths in the last decade. That sounds like a lot until you consider that alcohol is related to over 100,000 annually, or over 1,000,000 since 1990 ("Number of deaths"). According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's own statistics, GHB has been "linked" to over 5,700 recorded hospitalizations since 1990. Again, this sounds like a tremendous number until you put it in perspective: alcohol was responsible for over 10,000,000 hospitalizations in the same period of time ("Number of all"). Further, the notion that GHB is "new" and therefore mysterious is simply laughable; an abundance of scientific studies dating all the way back to the 1960s suggests that the substance has numerous beneficial properties - properties that the media rarely, if ever, mention (Cameron; Dean, pp. 103-105; "GHB"; Marwick). Moreover, recent studies have debunked the myth that GHB is "the date rape drug," with alcohol responsible for the vast majority of drug-related sexual assault cases and with GHB appearing in a minuscule minority, if at all (Hindmarch; Cole, R.).

Nevertheless, in ten years, GHB went from store shelves alongside vitamin C, aspirin and soy protein, to the federal list of Schedule I Drugs alongside LSD, ecstasy, and heroin. The news reports quoted above exemplify what has become a widespread pattern of panicked reactions to GHB - a nationwide phenomenon caused by fear, misinformation, symbolic politics, and mass media that has resulted in a public response so pervasive, so vehement and so grossly inaccurate that it rises to the threshold of mass hysteria. This hysteria has led to widespread false memories of date rape drugging. This hysteria has led to witch-hunts, with a GHB supplier being tried for murder, two men being convicted of rape without reason, numerous charges of manslaughter for providing GHB, and DEA arrests and seizures throughout the country. And this hysteria has led to legal codification starting from the FDA's revocation of GHB's status as a food supplement, continuing with state legislation that criminalized possession of GHB, and ending in federal prohibition.

GHB (an acronym for gamma-hydroxybutyrate) was first synthesized in 1960. Neurobiologists later discovered that GHB actually exists in the brain, acting as a neurotransmitter and affecting the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (an inhibitory neurotransmitter, sold over-the-counter as GABA) and the secretion of growth hormone (though research continues as to the precise role of GHB) (Marwick et al). Because it is naturally created, processed, and metabolized into water and carbon dioxide, GHB is inherently non-toxic to the human. It does not cause damage to the brain, liver, or any major organ, leaving the body safely within 12 hours in the form of water and carbon dioxide (Dean et al, pp. 1-19). (Ironically, this positive property of GHB has been cited by the media and by authorities as a danger, since the substance could conceivably be used by sexual predators without leaving a chemical trail. This problem with falsification has led many to conclude that a lack of evidence is evidence, thus setting the stage for fear unfettered by facts.) Due to the fact that GHB is naturally ocurring and necessary for proper function, some scientists have referred to it as a nutrient. However, due to the psychoactive effects manifest at high dosages (among other less concrete reasons that I explore later), many groups (scientists, media, government, and general public) have referred to it as a drug.

Proper use of GHB by a healthy person is beneficial on multiple levels, resulting in increased alertness, enhanced mood, improved memory, heightened growth hormone secretion, cellular protection and deep sleep without a hangover (Cameron; Dean et al). GHB causes neurons to absorb and retain stimulating neurotransmitters such as dopamine, resulting in relaxation and disinhibition. After the initial effects of GHB have worn off, it produces a "heightened state of awareness and energy," which contrasts greatly with the aftereffects of alcohol and sleeping pills. At this point, the neurons release the neurotransmitters that they had stored during the initial phase, paradoxically causing the subject to become more alert. When administered orally or intravenously in the amount of 1 gram, GHB can result in "relaxation, decreased anxiety, enhanced sociability," and mild euphoria for up to 2 hours; this dosage can be used for short-term treatments of anxiety. A dose up to 2 grams increases the degree of relaxation as well as the subsequent heightened stimulation. Because of the net increase in the level of stimulatory neurotransmitters, individuals can use GHB at this dosage for treating depression and enhancing mood. A dose higher than 2 grams induces sleep for about 3 hours; people can take this dose for deep sleep with a clean recovery (Dean, et al; pp. 152-154). This also explains the molecule's purported reputation for creating an effect similar to alcohol (when used for recreational purposes) without the hangover; however, the ability of GHB to cause sedation or induce sleep has also laid the foundation for the "date rape drug" label.