GHB: "The World's Worst Drug"

This article from Australia shows why I really feel the need to make a film about the dangers of GHB:

Gamma hydroxybutyrate -- known on the street as GHB or fantasy -- is popular in the nightclub, rave and dance scene, particularly on the Gold Coast, studies reveal.

Often sold as ''liquid ecstasy'' even though it's a very different kind of drug, GHB can be cheaper than alcohol and, because it leaves the system quickly, users normally escape hangovers.

Dr Paul Dillon, chief research officer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, says the other main appeal to users is the drug's effects in making people sexually uninhibited. ...

But users are playing Russian roulette every time they take the drug, usually sold as a clear, odourless liquid in 5ml-7ml doses.

''Its potential for overdose is frightening,'' Dr Dillon says. ''Most drugs have a reasonable difference between the amount needed for a good time and finding yourself in the emergency room, but in the case of GHB the gap is tiny.''

As little as 2ml difference can put users in a coma. And the quality of GHB is notoriously erratic, so even regular users easily miscalculate.

A 2003 study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre showed half of all GHB users had overdosed at least once, and one-third at least three times.

A Queensland study by the centre last year found more than a quarter of ecstasy users had also taken GHB, 13 per cent within the previous six months. That was more than twice the rate for the previous two years, and well above the national level of nine per cent.

With more than 700,000 young Australians using ecstasy each year, that means GHB is also widespread.

A Ritalin Abuse Death

I talked to a young man tonight who's brother died from Ritalin abuse. He said the prescription stimulant attacked his brother's heart, weakening it. That led to risky heart surgery, and his brother died on the operating table.

"He died during heart surgery, but it was Ritalin that killed him," he said, adding that Ritalin abuse is common on some college campuses.

This is the first I've heard of this. I did a Nexis search over the last year for stories of Ritalin abuse and death, and all I found was one reference to Ritalin's popularity at "pharm parties," where kids mix prescription drugs in a bowl and wash down mixtures of pills with alcohol.