I agree fully that GHB is the prime example of government sponsored propoganda, for example offering parents of recently deceased children large sums of money to become official spokespersons for the cause. They are then coached with the "Facts" and information, about a cause. You will notice how many of these "parents of ____ victim" list just that as their career, they become paid PR team members for an anti-drug lobbying group, government affiliated or not.
Many people have discovered that spouting Bullshit and claiming being an expert to all who will listen about a given subject is enough to have people actually accept your "expert" status. Take Trinka Porrata, a retired narcotics officer who has made a personal mission of villifying GHB, Ecstacy and other Club Drugs.
My personal stance on GHB is that when used in moderation by an intelligent person who understands the risks and how to use safely, is a far less harmful substance than practically all others.
When used responsibly GHB can provide the euphoria of MDMA in social situations and a frequency more often expected from alcohol (I.E. Every weekend type use), without the associated harmful effects of either substance (hangover/brain damage/body damage).
You will notice as you learn more about drugs that the more "popular" less stigmatized drugs are the "beginner friendly" ones which provide a buffer against mistakes such as overdoses or overusage. Society condones those which intoxication can be easily detected and "being macho" by taking more than your friends is a challenge met at worst by a hangover.
Alcohol will punish its user for doubling the typical recreational dose with a pounding headache the following day, and a list of stupid things its user did the night before, and a collection of bruises and scars from those stupid things. Attempting to drink too excessively at a regular pace (all at once can be fatal) will generally lead to unconsciousness long before death as the user is unable to consume a lethal dose before unconsciousness occurs.
Marijuana will punish its user from taking too much by becoming too stoned to take any more and eventually passing out in a position where the person will wake up with a sore neck.
MDMA punishes its user from exceeding the recreational dose economically, as the user discovers that the euphoria does not scale anywhere near linearly to the amount of money/braincells/energy spent on the high.
The result is that these three drugs are most often popular amongst the uneducated drug users because they can compete in "dicksizing" contests where one tries to outconsume another.
The drugs which most uneducated users consider "hardcore" are those which can have much more extreme consequences to excessive usage. In the examples of cocaine, speed, GHB, ketamine and heroin, regular (everyday) usage causes horrible dependancies on the drugs. In the examples of most psychedelics excessive usage will cause distortions of thought. Using excessive dosages of any of the aforementioned drugs can also result in extreme results which are very unlikely to increase their popularity among those who know nothing of the circumstances other than "Jonny died of a GHB overdose".
The reality of the situation is this thread is full of confusion due to an overloading of the meaning of "overdose". This term is used in 2 separate meanings here, one where overdose means "a dose was used which is beyond the regular recreational usage range", and a second where overdose means "a dosage where death is likely given no emergency pallative care".
In the case of GHB, the results of an overdose in definition 1 are either obnoxious behavior or an unrousable sleep with breathing being shallow but of regular frequency, possible shivers but nothing which could cause the tounge to obstruct the airway, lasting around 4 hours. The results of an overdose of definition 2 will include profuse vomiting, large bodily movements, or complete absence of breath and movement.
The dosage range for an overdose of the first type is typically from 2.5g to 10g, while the second type of overdose is most likely to occur in the case of an extremely large dose, or GHB in combination with another CNS depressant, or an unknown dose.
The reason I give this information (which erowid also mentions BTW), is because if you know your friend has had 4g of GHB and is a regular user and he says "oh boy, Im going to G-out" and generally does not seem paniced about it and manages to make it to a place where it is somewhat socially acceptable for a person to sleep, like say a couch, then he is in no danger. Often recreational users of G find it their preferrable way to end a night of partying with a larger than usual dose to take a nap.
On the other hand, if you are at a party and somebody you meet has gone from coherant to so fucked up their head hits the floor ... hard... in 5 minutes, and you saw him take a big gulp of G of unknown purity within the last 10 minutes... this is an overdose in the 2nd sense. This person needs immediate medical attention.
A general note about CNS depressants affecting breathing and stopping the heart... well usually the heart stops as a result of the breathing stopping, due to not enough oxygen in the blood. The heart actually stops to conserve O2 for the brain. The point of me saying this is that although the EMTs don't have a "narcan for G", CPR can actually prevent the heart from stopping and maintain an adequate supply of O2 to the brain for quite a while, and a breathing machine and a 100% O2 mask can keep a person alive almost always if provided in time.
I've read many cases of EMTs not knowing what the hell to do in the case of a GHB overdose or dismissing the advice of the "druggy friends", and so they will usually end up administering the maximum dose of Narcan (very unpleasant even if not an opioid OD), and generally dicking around wasting time because they don't know what to do. I don't know what advice to give here as doctors are usually arrogant pricks who don't listen to medical advice from anybody but the pharm companies which wine them and dine them.
My only advice is that if you or anybody you know is the victim of a GHB overdose of definition #1 and wakes up in a hospital, demand repeatedly to be let go as soon as you are able to make it home safely. The doctors will do everything in their power to keep you there, but as one of my friends once learned, there is very little to be gained from days 2 and 3 in the hospital when there from a drug overdose which has been resolved other than a $10000+ bill.
I'd just like to add, if anybody can still find GHB within the US, you fuckers are sooo lucky, I haven't seen it here since April 2001, when GBL went List 1 (cry)...