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THE NUMBER OF reported overdoses from GHB (also known as G), a drug commonly used during chemsex, has increased by 75% in Ireland.
Fourteen people were treated as inpatients or day patients in Irish hospitals in 2018, up from eight in 2017 and seven in 2016. There are currently no figures available for 2019.
However, experts say the official figure is likely to be a major underestimation. The vast majority of overdose patients present at emergency departments and these numbers are not collated.
The 29 overdoses recorded from 2016 to 2018 may include people who were admitted to hospital more than once after overdosing on GHB. So, it refers to 29 overdoses, not necessarily 29 people.
As revealed by TheJournal.ie earlier this month, there has been a 55% increase in the number of people being referred to Ireland’s only GHB-detoxification clinic.
Seventy-six people were referred to the clinic from January to August, compared to 49 for the whole of 2018. The number of detoxification referrals has jumped from just one in 2014 and five in both 2015 and 2016.
Chemsex and G-use are explored in the latest episode of The Explainer podcast. During the podcast, Dr Kiran Santlal, Registrar in Psychiatry of Substance Misuse at the National Drug Treatment Centre, explained why it’s so common to overdose on G.
“It is quite easy to overdose on GHB and that’s because the strengths can vary from batch to batch. It can be diluted with water if it’s being sold to someone, so you don’t know what the concentration is and the dose measured is in very small quantities.
So 1ml can give you a euphoric kind of feeling, 1.5ml can cause you to sleep and 2ml would be an overdose where you go under or pass out, lose consciousness for about two or three hours.
Santlal said some people who pass out while on G recover after a couple of hours, while others need medical help.
“The people around them may just leave them to recover and to regain consciousness, and that in itself is quite dangerous because they can go further into an overdose and actually end up in a coma,” he told us.
Deaths
Experts working in the sector have said that, anecdotally, they’re aware of people in Ireland who have died as a result of using G. However, it’s very difficult to get an accurate figure.
G usually only shows up in a person’s system for up to 12 hours and many toxicology tests don’t screen specifically for the drug.
“It’s very difficult to determine whether G is implicated in deaths or whether it’s the sole cause of death. And that’s for a number of reasons,” Santlal said. He noted that when G is ingested it’s broken down into carbon dioxide and water, meaning there’s no metabolic to test for it.
“It’s extremely difficult to test for it, you’d need very specialised equipment,” Santlal said, noting that many labs wouldn’t be equipped to do so.
He said that while a G overdose is “very much like” an opioid overdose, there’s no antidote for it. If a person overdoses on heroin, for example, they usually wake up a few minutes after receiving a medicine such as Naloxone. However, a G overdose cannot be treated in the same way.
“If someone has overdosed on G, the only treatment that you can give is medical supportive management – make sure the airways open, make sure that they’re breathing properly, they’re getting enough oxygen, monitor their heart rate, and just keep them medically stable,” Santlal explained.
He said if a person is with someone who they believe has overdosed on G, “definitely don’t assume that they will sleep it off”.
“Place them in the recovery position to prevent them from choking, call an ambulance (on 112) as soon as you feel that they have overdosed and stay with the person until the ambulance arrives.
Don’t let them take any more drugs in the hope of counteracting the effects of G. And if you know what they’ve taken be truthful with the paramedics when they ask you – the more that they know the better they can help.
As passing out on G is so common, there are growing concerns about sexual assault, as previously reported by TheJournal.ie.
€1 for 1ml
Graham Ryall, Treatment Services Coordinator at the Rialto Community Drug Team, has worked in addiction services for over 20 years. He said the physical and mental effects of G addiction are worse than anything he has seen before, including heroin.
Ryall told the podcast G is incredibly addictive, incredibly cheap and incredibly easy to get – people can get 1ml for as little as €1. Ryall said people can buy one litre of the drug online for €100 to €120 and sell it for about €1,000.
He said G addiction “can happen quite quickly”, noting:
If someone parties for three, four days, dependency may come from that episode of partying, it’s very addictive. And a person then has to take some G every 60 to 120 minutes, and that’s throughout the day (and night).
G is often used socially or for pleasure but some people take it for more complex reasons, such as intimacy issues and internalised homophobia.
Ryall noted that some people “party every so often and, you know, get on with their lives, and that’s fine, they’re not affected by it, but there are those who get deeper into it”. He said some people who initially just do G socially start to take it during the week to manage their comedown from the weekend.
“That’s say, of a Monday or Tuesday, you know, when they’re in the middle of their comedown … suddenly the realisation of what they did over the weekend, perhaps something that they wouldn’t normally do, be it sexually or whatever.
“And that can lead to guilt, shame, and in some cases that then rises the anxiety. And how do you deal with that? A shot (of G) and it’s all gone away again,” he said.
Ryall said the fact that G and chemsex are most associated with the gay community is notable, and he stressed how complex the situation is.
“I think you have to look at the fact that it seems that G and crystal meth are (primarily) confined to the LGBT+ community. And I think that that’s a really interesting aspect of it,” he said.
Ryall noted that these substances can reduce a person’s inhibitions and temporarily subdue negative feelings connected to internalised homophobia and sexuality.
“Suddenly with these substances, you feel completely comfortable with who and what you are,” Ryall said, adding that a loss of inhibition sexually “is for a lot of people how they’ve wanted to feel for a long, long time”.
“And that’s how they do feel initially but as their use continues, that’s when the problems start to happen.”
The Explainer / SoundCloud
Advice and support
If someone ‘goes under‘ while on G:
Want to talk about G or chemsex? Here are some of the support services available:
Another taxpayer funded waster, it’s such a pity that expensive talking shop wasn’t abolished
@Jock Doyle: please explain that to me . Your throw away comment with no evidence or reasoning behind it , is a poor way to start your side of an argument.
@David Fox: non elected, a room full of wafflers, talking nonsense and getting paid for it courtesy of real working people
@Jock Doyle: isn’t that government puppet, Paul Reid ( €400K + HSE spoofer) , running the talking shop???
@Frank Mc Carthy: another bollox
@Jock Doyle: ” spoofer” is the correct term
@Frank Mc Carthy: no hes not..
@Jock Doyle: she talks a lot of sense, unlike yourself. Only problem is, who’s listening?
@Kevin Kerr: do ye trolls / stalkers get any break of a bank holiday weekend??
@Jock Doyle: Define ‘real working people’ and also ‘fake working people’?
@Jock Doyle: the criminalisation approach is a “tax payer funded waster” and the money from drugs all goes to crime. But sure let’s keep lining the kinehans pockets and putting kids in jail for nothing while violent sociopaths walk free.
@Jock Doyle: sure look at the barbie kardashin case in court the other day, trans male to female prisoner, threated to harm both a female prisoner and female prison officer, used the term rape , freely admitted this in court and the jury found them not guilty, yes lets makenit easier for criminals to get away with crime
The people giving out about because they don’t like the Seanad should actually read this article and the report it describes, because it has the potential to change our country for the better, to save lives and communities, and to prevent so much unnecessary pain and suffering. We all owe it to ourselves to support this.
@mani mus: And many young males have a tendency to drive faster than is safe for them and other people. Should we decriminalise speeding etc. ?
@thomas molloy: can you present a solid, evidence-based argument showing that prohibition of speeding has failed, and decriminalisation would lead to better outcomes? If so, write your report and let’s see it. If not, you’re not adding anything useful to this discussion.
@mani mus: Decriminalisation would kill and maim more drivers and other people and traumatise more families.
@mani mus: BS!
@mani mus: Do you think they have the attention span ??
Ludicrous article,as you’d expect from this author! The idea of locking up criminals is primarily to protect wider society, by acting as a deterrent while also taking the offender off the streets for a period of time. Whether it’s off any ‘benefit’ to the perpetrator is way down the list of concerns, frankly who cares? Prison is a punishment, not a focus group or rehab centre!
@Jonn: well, if you decriminalise, they won’t be criminals, so you won’t need to lock them up. The question you need to ask yourself is, why? Why would people who are at least as intelligent as you, and who have spent years studying the whole issue of drugs, conclude that criminalising drug use has failed, and makes things worse for everyone in society?
@Jonn: you are clearly far removed from the issues around drug use and drug addiction..
@Stiles:
Ask any business owner or shop owner in the inner city who’s on the front line of dealing with drug users hassling and intimidating staff,stealing,hassling customers, drug paraphernalia lying around on streets etc etc if they think the current ‘turn a blind eye’ soft policing approach is working..for anybody,including drug users..and we both know what the answer would be!
@Jonn: so it’s all right to get blind drunk in a pub after all it’s socially acceptable to buy drink it puts money into the government coffers? Drink causes as much if not more harm than drugs. I seen an interview with a US Sheriff he said that in over 20 yrs he’d never been called to a domestic involving cannabis but he’d lost count on the amount involving alcohol. Coke is readily available in every town in Ireland, it’s as easy to get as a takeaway pizza. Heroin is also easy to get aswell. Addiction is a terrible thing , like blindly believing what your told without looking into it yourself. Portugal has seen a decrease in street crime since it set up its programme, I’m not saying it suits every addict but it dies the majority & hopefully either a bit of compassion , we will do the same
@Peter James Carroll: but think about that difference between the alcohol being legal and the cannabis not being…
@Jonn: You somehow managed to completely miss the point of the article in your rush to peddle your outdated and inaccurate views. The evidence is so overwhelming now that the debate has moved on. The current laws, by your own admission, have failed. It’s about time we base our laws on evidenced based research and proven experience. Your inability to accept reality is prolonging the harm and creating the scenario you claim to want to fix. You can’t have it both ways. Please catch up or get out of the way.
@Jonn: you just described our current broken system… criminalising people for drugs has achieved nothing.. its made the problem worse.. if you can’t see that then I don’t know what else to say to ya. youre entitled to your opinion even if it is wrong.. have a good weekend..
@Jonn: they used to lock up men for being gay too.
The only safe way for an addict to deal with drugs is not take drugs. Because a substance is legal for personal use doesn’t mean that deaths with stop. The author tells us the “evidence says otherwise” yet and I may be mistake there is not one link posted to show that evidence. I worked for 13 years in the field, am in recovery myself. I have met literally thousands of addicts over the last 20 years. Those that use have an unmanageability about their life’s that is not good for anyone why advocate for such unhappiness?
@Mick O’K: quite right. Time to ban booze. Addicts just can’t help themselves. Lock up the wine drinkers and grape growers.
@Mick O’K: she posted the link to the oireachtas report on the same link you can find all the recordings of the oireachtas committee on drugs public meetings where experts from around the world were brought in to give evidence. theres so many incorrect issues with your comment it shows no matter what your experience is you too are wrong. if you really wanted harm reduction you’d be onboard with decriminalisation. absolutely nothing is achieved with prohibition.
Boredom can function like a gateway drug for addictions. It’s one of the unintended consequences of our welfare cash system. Importing of almost all factory produced products from abroad is a cause of unemployment amongst ordinary people and they become idle with cash.
@thomas molloy: if you want people working, you must be in favour of decriminalisation – a drugs conviction doesn’t exactly help you find a job. Then, maybe the money we could save from ending wasteful, failed prohibition policies could be reinvested in the kind of disadvantaged communities you’re worried about. Educate and support people to build meaningful, productive lives for themselves.
@mani mus: Prevention is best.
Joint Committee on Drugs….reporting on Cannibas usage….anyone else see the joke there :)
Drug use – decriminalised or not – brings drug dealers. All this element care about is money and you only have to look at their tactics to see the mayhem opening the doors will cause. As for a possession conviction stopping you getting a visa – the US Australia etc don’t want drug users coming to their country so like it or lump it…..don’t get a possession charge. And I sure as hell don’t want a habitual drug user running my kids youth club or teaching them so they should be vetted and possession of drugs should be on their record (although with the prevalence of coke and weed these days I conceded it’s already highly likely to be happening). I grew up in a similar area to the author but disagree fundamentally with her stance here.
@Niall Whyte: drug dealers like Heineken and Diageo?
@Niall Whyte: it’s not her stance it’s the whole oireachtas committees stance. they worked from a report from a citizen assembly who worked from a report from a earlier oireachtas committee.. all arriving at the same conclusion
you didn’t even read the article, easier to jump to the drugs are bad BS. the conclusion the that decriminalisation is going to reduce harm came from facts..you can have your own opinion but you can’t have your own facts.. open your mind to the fact that decriminalisation / regulation are not an endorsement to take drugs.. its an attempt to reduce the harm caused by them.. and for you to insinuate that all people who use drugs are bad and shouldn’t be around kids while ignoring alcohol is sold in most GAA/sports clubhouses is funny.. you’re completely ignorant on this topic.. no matter how many reassuring thumbs up you get..
No country has found an answer to the problem so don’t expect Ireland to do so.
@JP: it’s not about solving the problem, it’s about making the harm as small as possible.
@JP: There are no complete solutions in any aspect of the human mess, but we are supposed to ‘try’ and minimise the problems. Imo Irish people aren’t psychologically ready for trying anything in the realm of change. Currently we can even tie our laces, let along run the race.
@JP: Let’s never try then. Ok
Anybody unfortunate enough to end up depending on drugs to get them through life, a path we all travel, should most definitely be helped by our society, the current government of the day etc…… while those caught in the control of, transporting of, selling of and the profiting of drug (death) dealing, it’s those that should be given severe sentences, none of the suspended or over lenient small sentences we continue to see. Severe sentences would and should act as a deterrent, keeping them off our streets and in some part saving our communities from being further ravaged and destroyed by illegal drugs and those that carry it out! STOP making it so complicated, it’s not rocket science! What we need is a government and a society to tackle drugs head without all the bluster!
@Niall Binéad: Reading recent headlines the Govt courtesy of the Gardai are making big inroads into the dealing etc. Admittedly more needs to and will be done… there’s no ‘Blustering’ actions speak for themselves. It’s a BIG problem and HIGHLY organised not too easy the world over. Going by your comment anyone would think it’s easy and only here in Ireland and of course the Government’s fault.
George and Lynn
Thanks for letting me through to do my job last week miss Lynn white van man ,
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y5ll3ler7o.amp
Use up to date stats
Lynn, (there’s a bandwagon) says it all really.
Lets get down with the kids ‘gino’, and be “cool”.
We can stay relevant, by undermining Law and order.
Addicts need help in the form of rehab, not by decriminalising illegal drugs.
@Ed Brennan: Ed, ‘Rehab’ itself is a load of BS for a lot of people. Drug use has no place in the Legal system.
It is high time ( no pun intended) to legalise the growing of cannabis for personal use. The issue of opiates and other major drugs needs a health led treatment approach. If the money is taken away from criminal gangs society will benefit.
This needs to be supported and any with concerns or even possible fundamental disagreements on it should voice them constructively. Not only does all well researched scientific evidence support what Senator Ruane is saying but proof of the pudding is available through the lived experiences and empirical evidence which Portugal has provided through its brave move in its legislation on drugs. We must follow the proof and facts rather than our blind biases.
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