GHB use in Melbourne club scene

[DRUGZNOTHUGZ]

Haven't been hanging around druggy kind of clubs long but it seems every time I go to the one I normally go to, there's at least one or two scenarios that happen right in front of me, where someone blows out and starts smacking themselves or others incredibly hard in the head, or falls down and starts seizing. Apparently there's been 10 deaths at the club in question from GHB use, and the drug causes so many overdoses and problems in general that it's a massive wonder to me that the shit doesn't get more media attention. You'll look at the newspaper and see a new article about shard every day but I couldn't even find an article from this year on the first page of Google about juice. Seems like it should get a lot more attention than it does in my eyes.
Is this as much of a problem in anyone else's experience as it is in mine?

 

[Verybuffed]

Melbourne has always had major problems with G. We used to read about it all the time here years ago.

 

[Iliketrafficlights]

100% agree. Its always been around but I definitely feel like a lot of the younger kids are onto it a lot more now too. I too see so many people blowing out around me when I go out and I actually don't go out to those places because of it. I was disappointed to see so many people blowing out at earthcore too, killed the vibe heaps. My area in particular, the clubs are full of people just doing juice. I personally don't understand how they go clubbing on it, i reckon it just makes you feel drowsy drunk.

 

[Crankinit]

I get the appeal, but yeah, Melb has had a juice problem for a long time (from what I hear it basically killed the hard dance scene), and ice is the drug the media are really pushing as the DEADLY SCOURGE OF OUR SOCIETY at the moment. They'll probably go back to juice at some point. Just goes to show that the media trends don't reflect reality in any real way.

 

[DRUGZNOTHUGZ]

Most people do it cos it's cheap as shit as far as drugs go. Maybe it's so bad at the club I got in mind because the scene there is pretty fucked up... lots of underages get in there and a lot of 'em don't have a lot of cash to throw around (anyone know where I'm talking about? ). It's a common occurrence there, like the first time you see it happen you're like WTF cos they look so messed up, but now for me it's to the point now where it's kinda expected. The club reps even post on their website that it's not tolerated at all and you'll cop a life ban for blowing out, when they pretty much fully condone drug use there.
Makes me wonder why it doesn't get more media coverage, when it's the kind of story the media would love to cover. Like... cunts smashing their heads on walls and shit... I guess it's just not the cool way to kill yourself anymore :[

 

[poledriver]

I've seen a handful of importation bust media releases regarding it but not much in the way of user articles or OD's or whatever.

Record GBL seizure in Sydney
Joint media release with the AFP
11-12-2015 -
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers yesterday detected and seized a record 62 litres of the border controlled drug, gammabutyrolactone (GBL), commonly used to manufacture the drug known as ‘Fantasy’.

A 37-year-old man was selected for a full baggage search after he arrived on a flight from Thailand.

During the search, ABF officers identified a number of bottles containing a liquid substance, which was later identified as GBL.

The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for further investigations and the man was charged with the importation of a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

The man appeared before court today (11 December) where his bail was refused.

ABF Regional Commander NSW, Tim Fitzgerald, said the detection was an important one for the community.

“This is dangerous substance, capable of ruining many lives in a single incident,” Commander Fitzgerald said.

"This record seizure—our largest airport seizure of this drug to date—demonstrates the ongoing hard work of officers at the border, who continue to intercept illegal substances every week to keep our communities safe,” he said.

AFP Airport Police Commander Sharon Cowden said bringing a substance like GBL into Australia is a serious offence and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, or a fine of $1,350,000—or in some cases both.

“From a policing perspective, it is particularly satisfying that such a large quantity of such a dangerous drug will not be available in the Australian community this holiday season,” Commander Cowden said.

GBL, also known as ‘coma in a bottle’, metabolises into the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in the body. It can cause abrupt loss of consciousness, memory loss, respiratory difficulties, coma and death.

 

[the_ketaman]

I'm closer to Sydney and I haven't seen G in years. I love it so much but I also don't drink and I know how to be responsible. Not like the idiots taking swigs from a bottle or mixing with alcohol.

With all the information on it you wonder why this is still happening! It's a common drug in the gay scene because crystal & G together are unreal in the bedroom(as are either one alone) but you never hear of anything close to the magnitude of incidents you hear about in Melbourne. It must have a lot to do with the culture and how people are being taught to use the stuff. Thankfully most people now days know what responsible use is. Things are going to go wrong no matter what though.

Many gay clubs in Sydney have big signs saying that if your caught with or affected by meth or GHB you will be banned forever. I'm not sure how often they follow through with that coz I'm noticeably wired on meth most times I'm there. I hate that G's reputation is not good at all because it's amongst my most favorite drugs yet it's never available and probably because of the stigma. I think it's definitely possible to be responsible with it but that's just too hard for some, they'd rather take the chance and usually end up ruining EVERYONES night that just go easy. So annoying!

 

[Crankinit]

I noticed G was definitely around the hardstyle scene when I went over to Sydney a few times around 2009 - 2010. Not as prevalent as it's supposed to be in Melbourne, but it had an obvious presence (people blowing out leaning against walls, visine bottles and those little plastic fish on dancefloors) and was pretty easy for me to obtain personally.

Many gay clubs in Sydney have big signs saying that if your caught with or affected by meth or GHB you will be banned forever.

GHB is one thing (although even that could easily be mistaken for just being really drunk, as long as they don't blow out fully), but how are they supposed to know you're on meth, as opposed to coke or any of the million of other uppers out there? Sounds like it's more of a token effort to appease the media than anything they'd actually try to enforce regularly.

 

[Boku_]

I have a friend who work's the bar at a club in Melbourne and she told me a couple of years back the bar tenders had to stop giving the bottle caps out on the bottles on water as the clubbers were dosing G up with the bottle tops. I know how reckless and crazy can you get

 

[mostly-human]

I get the appeal, but yeah, Melb has had a juice problem for a long time (from what I hear it basically killed the hard dance scene),

Yah.. I was in the "scene" around 99-02 sort of era and G was fucking huge back then, notorious too though, if a kid wasn't blowing out of the dance floor, then they were wearing a T-Shirt denouncing the demon drug GHB.

 

[DRUGZNOTHUGZ]

What exactly is the significance behind the "name" 1,4? What relevance does it have to the drug? Kinda sad the nightlife of Melbourne turned out like that, cos I never really got into clubbing until relatively late in my life due to the company I kept (stoners) as well as the dry streak we had a few years back with good pingers. Kinda sad really... I wondered what happened with all those PHD cunts and why I never see people wearing that merchandise at those kinda clubs. The way some of those wankers dance there is wack as fuck, maybe it's just an "in" thing I don't understand... but yeah, safe to say IME and from what people said in this thread, GHB damaged our unique little dance scene pretty intensely. I'm glad good (decent ) googs came back to Straya cos God knows how many blowouts would happen each week otherwise. Moderation is no doubt a key aspect of taking that shit, but that word seems to be beyond most people on the scene's vocabulary, even the ones who don't stray further than MDMA...

 

[Crankinit]

"1,4" I assume because 1,4B is the name of the drug.

There are 3 main varieties of "juice," GHB, GBL (a GHB prodrug) and 1,4B (can't remember if it's a prodrug or an analogue). They're all fairly similar in terms of effects as far as I know, and while there are various descriptions of how to tell them apart going around (differences in taste, how long they take to kick in, etc.), as usual it's pretty hard to tell how accurate those bits of druggie lore are. At the end of the day they're effectively interchangeable for the end user, and I doubt anyone other than the person who cooked it or someone with the right scientific equipment could tell you accurately which one any particular sample of "juice" actually is.

 

[Verybuffed]

Are we allowed to mention venues on AusDD now? I have been away for awhile.

 

[drug_mentor]

^ Still not allowed. I have been pretty stoned the last week and it slipped by me, thanks for pointing it out.

 

[dez79]

GHB or GBL + booze should equal relaxed sleepy or unconsious? Ice + Steriods +Booze now theres a bad combo we see a lot of up here Qld

 

[BigTrancer]

https://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_14Butanediol.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Butanediol

1,4-butanediol is used for the synthesis of γ-butyrolactone (GBL)

It exerts effects similar to γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which is a metabolic product of 1,4-butanediol.

BT

 

[Verybuffed]

Great to see you posting BT. You are one of the people that got me interested in harm reduction.

 

[ClutchOne]

Maybe it's so bad at the club I got in mind because the scene there is pretty fucked up... lots of underages get in there and a lot of 'em don't have a lot of cash to throw around (anyone know where I'm talking about? ). :[

I'm new to Bluelight and am unsure of the rules in terms of naming specific venues... But I'm sure it's okay to guess that you're taking about a place that rhymes with Loud Time (on the notorious CBD street that rhymes with Ping)? Lel.

As far as the media coverage goes, I too agree that it deserves more attention than it currently receives due to how popular it is and how easily and common overdosing occurs (from a concerned citizen's point of view). However it's important to remember that this drug is primarily harmful to the individual using (abusing) it, and does not generally place those around them in danger or make them vulnerable to violence. Whereas with alcohol and methamphetamine - two substances that certainly do receive a lot more media attention - we too often see people being hurt and assaulted as a result of their use/abuse. It's therefore understandable why GHB, or 1,4-B (the much more commonly available substance in Melbourne, though not many realise it since it's metabolised into GHB anyway), doesn't receive as much media attention as its more aggression-inducing counterparts - because it is not as much of a safety concern for your everyday citizen.

 

[MindlessBilly]

I saw a heap of blowouts when i would hang around the hardstyle scene in Melbourne about 8 or so years ago & it turned me off the drug for many years, i would always say to my self "why the fuck would people do that to them selves" After making friends with some people who used it i came to the conclusion it was a mixture of irresponsibility, lack of knowledge & social acceptance between some groups of people which lead to the problems associated with GHB. I knew many people who could use the drug responsibly & safely & a few years later got into it my self, to this day ive never had an incident in public where my use lead to a blowout etc.

I think its unfortunate that people are so irresponsible with their use of the drug & the "blowout culture" that still seems apparent with the new generation of of clubbers, part of the problem is the drug is very unforgiving with a steep dose response curve so combined with culture & immaturity it creates the perfect storm.

 

[hypn0tic]

Melbourne clubs have cracked down on the GHB problem. People are receiving life bans from venues if they are caught with juice or blowing out - Recently i was helping a guy blowing out at cloud 9 and when the bouncer came over he made it clear he won't ever be coming back to the venue anytime ever. Personally, i like GHB however it's because of those who are irresponsible with it is why it has a bad name.

Remember the times of your dosages so you don't blowout. If you can't remember the last time you had mLs, don't have another plunge. Wait a few hours. This would be the reason for a large majority of the blowouts. The user forgets when they had their last mLs.

the drug is very unforgiving with a steep dose response curve so combined with culture & immaturity it creates the perfect storm.

This is very true, the difference between having a good time and blowing out may be separated by only a mL.