Drawbacks using GHB

Tests using medical-size doses (which may be smaller than ones taken by illicit users) reveal no impairment of mental or physical abilities; the researchers concluded that GHB does not hurt job performance or ability to drive a car. Nevertheless, GHB is suspected of causing an automobile driver to pass out, and the drug’s sleep-inducing properties make it inadvisable to use while operating dangerous machinery. Supposedly the drug causes amnesia about events that occur while a person is intoxicated with the substance, although experiments using medical-size doses find no effect on short-term memory. A large-enough dose can slow heart rate and interfere with a person’s ability to move and make a person vomit and fall asleep. Breathing difficulty can occur. Seizures have been reported, but some authorities believe those reports have misidentified various muscle contractions as seizures. In monkeys the drug lowers body temperature. In rats that effect depends on a dose’s size, with small amounts raising body temperature and large amounts lowering it. An odd overdose effect has been observed in persons who temporarily stop breathing yet become violent despite that impairment. The drug reduces control of urination and defecation. Although GHB can cause blood to appear in urine, no damage to body organs has been observed. People can take medical doses for years without showing any psychotic symptoms

Richard Lawrence Miller - The Encyclopedia of Addictive Drugs