Police warn about the Georgia Homeboy (dodgy GHB). Six hospitalised in one night

DrKoresh said :

Martlark said :

Lets hope the manufacturer announces a recall soon. Looks like they dropped the ball on quality control. I demand the CEO make a public apology!

That’s why I don’t understand the war on drugs. You’re never gonna stamp out drug use, so why not legalise and heavily regulate illicit narcotics? Then you would have quality control and so on and so forth, save everyone a whole bunch of trouble.

Never going to stamp out rape or sexual abuse, either.

Just because something “will always be done” isn’t reason enough to legalise it. There may be good arguments in favour of drug legalisation, but that isn’t one of them.

TheDancingDjinn said :

bundah said :

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

I know plenty of people who went tin foiled after small amounts of pot – gotta be honest though, all of them were a bit tweeky to begin with.

In most cases there is an undiagnosed pre-existing mental condition which makes some ppl more susceptable to tweaking out, but it does not cause and never will cause schizophrenia.

Good place for a heads up on this, since I suspect a majority of posters are on drugs of some sort.

anyone know anything more about the local-specific story/content of the OP? were all the ODs at one club? which one?

kakosi said :

Actually it is and there are many studies and many people affected No loose research, hard evidence. http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

1/ You’re indulging in the classic confusion of correlation with causation so beloved of those who have nothing better to back up their bad argument.

2/ In what way does prohibition reduce the risk?

The fact is that the mindless cretinism of prohibition exacerbates health risks by preventing the authorities from exercising any kind of control over quality and dosage, (as with all other illicit drugs).

Everybody with a brain, from Police Commissioner down, knows for a fact that prohibition doesn’t work. Additionally, it creates health problems, creates crime problems, and criminalises people for no good reason.

Dumb flogs with no capacity for rational, analytical thought, continue to come up with all sorts of stupid arguments in favour of the complete and utter failure that is prohibition.

kakosi said :

bundah said :

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

Knock yourself out – it’s a well-known issue. Of course it’s different when you see what it does to someone you care about. And it’s forever: http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

The potential to cause or bring forward schizophrenia in those predisposed to it is almost without exception caused by cannabis smoking by teenagers, not adults.

The current model does nothing to prevent teenagers smoking; in fact it makes it easier for them to smoke. Teenagers report that it is easier to access cannabis than alcohol, due to the strict regulations in place that govern the sale of alcohol.

Legalise it, tax it, strictly regulate it, including massive fines and loss of license for those who supply to people under the age limit. Use the tax dollars to fund education programmes and advertising, similar to the anti-tobacco ads that have led to a significant reduction in people who smoke tobacco. Also use the tax dollars to fund the medical treatment of people who need it.

Prohibition does nothing to stop demand or supply. It doesn’t stop people feeling negative effects from it; if it did you wouldn’t be here telling your story. However, prohibition does makes it easier for those most at risk of its potentially harmful side effects to access it, and it ensures that the money from it goes into the pockets of crime gangs, and not into the health system through taxation.

Just because something has the potential to cause harm is not reason to ban it, particularly when banning it doesn’t actually solve any problems but creates a whole new set of issues on top of the potential for harm that exists.

kakosi said :

bundah said :

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

Knock yourself out – it’s a well-known issue. Of course it’s different when you see what it does to someone you care about. And it’s forever: http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

So those close to you would fall into the category of approx 1 in 10 who have been adversely affected by cannabis whereas the other 90% would mostly say that they have not suffered any long term ill effects and would therefore suggest that it is safe.

It really is a bit like playing russian roulette so the only safe thing to do is abstain.

Jethro said :

I never said pot was safe.

However, it is safer than alcohol, and prohibition hasn’t limited its use, nor does it provide tax revenue to fund treatment for those who feel its negative effects.

The argument that we should continue with prohibition because something has potentially harmful consequences ultimately mean banning most things in life. Strictly regulated legalisation is a far more useful way to deal with the possible harm these things can cause.

Nowhere near as “safe”. Try driving a car while on it and see how safe it is. http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

kakosi said :

Jethro said :

Masquara said :

Jethro said :

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Alcohol is legal. Alcohol kills many people.

You are never going to make drug taking completely safe, nor are you going to ever eradicate its use.

The number of people who die from heroin overdoses, bad batches of ecstasy, etc would be significantly reduced if they were available through a tightly regulated market. Impacted Nurse’s blog highlights the serious consequences of forcing drug users into a black market. Those 6 people in the OP would not have been hospitalised if prohibition didn’t exist.

Let’s not forget that alcohol in America once was prohibited. The social costs of prohibition far outweighed the non-existent benefits. People kept drinking, but were giving their money to crime gangs instead of legitimate businesses and the government through tax. Alcohol is legal because people realised it is the best way to deal with this potentially harmful substance. Considering alcohol is much more dangerous than either cannabis or MDMA, it also poses the question as to why one is legal and the others are illegal.

As you said, alcohol kills many people. Yet cannabis, which has never caused a single overdose death is illegal

Cannabis has a side effect of schizoprehnia – ruined two people I’ve known in my life. So don’t say it’s safe because it’s clearly not.

Schizophrenia is not a side effect of cannabis. There is some loose research saying it may bring it on earlier in peeps who have it anyway.

Actually it is and there are many studies and many people affected No loose research, hard evidence. http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

bundah said :

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

Knock yourself out – it’s a well-known issue. Of course it’s different when you see what it does to someone you care about. And it’s forever: http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/streetdrugs.html

Jethro said :

I never said pot was safe.

However, it is safer than alcohol, and prohibition hasn’t limited its use, nor does it provide tax revenue to fund treatment for those who feel its negative effects.

The argument that we should continue with prohibition because something has potentially harmful consequences ultimately mean banning most things in life. Strictly regulated legalisation is a far more useful way to deal with the possible harm these things can cause.

Careful dude, i hear intelligence isn’t welcome here on the internet – your likely to be dragged out and stoned or something.

kakosi said :

Jethro said :

Masquara said :

Jethro said :

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Alcohol is legal. Alcohol kills many people.

You are never going to make drug taking completely safe, nor are you going to ever eradicate its use.

The number of people who die from heroin overdoses, bad batches of ecstasy, etc would be significantly reduced if they were available through a tightly regulated market. Impacted Nurse’s blog highlights the serious consequences of forcing drug users into a black market. Those 6 people in the OP would not have been hospitalised if prohibition didn’t exist.

Let’s not forget that alcohol in America once was prohibited. The social costs of prohibition far outweighed the non-existent benefits. People kept drinking, but were giving their money to crime gangs instead of legitimate businesses and the government through tax. Alcohol is legal because people realised it is the best way to deal with this potentially harmful substance. Considering alcohol is much more dangerous than either cannabis or MDMA, it also poses the question as to why one is legal and the others are illegal.

As you said, alcohol kills many people. Yet cannabis, which has never caused a single overdose death is illegal

Cannabis has a side effect of schizoprehnia – ruined two people I’ve known in my life. So don’t say it’s safe because it’s clearly not.

Schizophrenia is not a side effect of cannabis. There is some loose research saying it may bring it on earlier in peeps who have it anyway.

I never said pot was safe.

However, it is safer than alcohol, and prohibition hasn’t limited its use, nor does it provide tax revenue to fund treatment for those who feel its negative effects.

The argument that we should continue with prohibition because something has potentially harmful consequences ultimately mean banning most things in life. Strictly regulated legalisation is a far more useful way to deal with the possible harm these things can cause.

bundah said :

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

I know plenty of people who went tin foiled after small amounts of pot – gotta be honest though, all of them were a bit tweeky to begin with.

Jethro said :

TheDancingDjinn said :

High doses of anything will kill you, just be careful people.:)

Indeed. For example, smoking just 700kg of pot in one go has the potential of causing an OD.

I personally don’t consider pot a drug like say heroin or what not. though i think 700kgs of weed would make me cough to death before i got to the OD haha ( i was a long time pot smoker, and am for any drug reforms they want to trial) I stand by my comment though, too much of anything will hurt you – be it drugs, alcohol,or ice cream – there is nothing wrong with promoting harm minimisation you know Jethro – too much oxygen can kill you… its just a shame it doesnt hurt the oxygen thieves we have roaming amongst us.

There have been major studies that followed large numbers of people over several years, and showed that people who use cannabis have a higher than average risk of developing schizophrenia. If you start smoking it before the age of 15, you are 4 times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder by the time you are 26. So it seems that the more cannabis one uses the more likely one will develop symptoms.

Of course there are those who have smoked for decades who insist that they have not suffered any detrimental side effects.

Jethro said :

Masquara said :

Jethro said :

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Alcohol is legal. Alcohol kills many people.

You are never going to make drug taking completely safe, nor are you going to ever eradicate its use.

The number of people who die from heroin overdoses, bad batches of ecstasy, etc would be significantly reduced if they were available through a tightly regulated market. Impacted Nurse’s blog highlights the serious consequences of forcing drug users into a black market. Those 6 people in the OP would not have been hospitalised if prohibition didn’t exist.

Let’s not forget that alcohol in America once was prohibited. The social costs of prohibition far outweighed the non-existent benefits. People kept drinking, but were giving their money to crime gangs instead of legitimate businesses and the government through tax. Alcohol is legal because people realised it is the best way to deal with this potentially harmful substance. Considering alcohol is much more dangerous than either cannabis or MDMA, it also poses the question as to why one is legal and the others are illegal.

As you said, alcohol kills many people. Yet cannabis, which has never caused a single overdose death is illegal

Cannabis has a side effect of schizoprehnia – ruined two people I’ve known in my life. So don’t say it’s safe because it’s clearly not.

TheDancingDjinn said :

High doses of anything will kill you, just be careful people.:)

Indeed. For example, smoking just 700kg of pot in one go has the potential of causing an OD.

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

The only reason these people were hospitalised is that the drugs were illegal.

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Legal drugs would have passed regulations. Illegal drugs are manufactured by crime gangs and cut with god-know-what in order to maximise profits.

Making drugs legal won’t stop stupid people using them in stupid ways, overdosing and dying. After all alcohol is legal and people die from that quite regularly.

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

A person who is a diagnosed heroin addict could access safe heroin through a doctor’s prescription and pharmacy or government outlet. They would therefore have access to medical help to treat their addiction without fear of being arrested, they would be getting a safe dose and they wouldn’t be committing crimes to pay the huge markup charged by crime gangs.

This would also help destroy the business model of drug dealers who seek to get users hooked onto harder and more addictive drugs. There’s no use making the effort to get someone addicted to heroin if they are just going to go and access safer and cheaper heroin through a doctor.

Don’t we have Methadone available this way as a supposed safe alternative to Heroin?

dpm said :

milkman said :

Meh. Take illegal drugs, you take your chances.

Same with legal drugs!! Hahaha!

With legal drugs you know what you are getting.

It comes in capsule form now? About ten years ago it was sold in liquid form, put it with fizzy drink and wash it down. It was quite popular in Canberra a while ago amongst the recreational party drug user, as a great come down tool, it’s quite the muscle relaxant. High doses of anything will kill you, just be careful people.:)

460cixy said :

I recon we need more of these dodgy pingers on the streets less drugos is only a good thing

Oh right, we need more young people dying in the streets from toxic drugs. Great thinking.

kakosi said :

The recent problem with people getting sick from tablets they swallowed for a bit of “fun” is an indication of how stupid people are…not a sign governments should start handing out cocaine or heroin or any other stupid fad substance someone wants to shove up their arse.

You’re supposed to shove it up your arse? I knew I was doing something wrong…

Masquara said :

Jethro said :

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Alcohol is legal. Alcohol kills many people.

You are never going to make drug taking completely safe, nor are you going to ever eradicate its use.

The number of people who die from heroin overdoses, bad batches of ecstasy, etc would be significantly reduced if they were available through a tightly regulated market. Impacted Nurse’s blog highlights the serious consequences of forcing drug users into a black market. Those 6 people in the OP would not have been hospitalised if prohibition didn’t exist.

Let’s not forget that alcohol in America once was prohibited. The social costs of prohibition far outweighed the non-existent benefits. People kept drinking, but were giving their money to crime gangs instead of legitimate businesses and the government through tax. Alcohol is legal because people realised it is the best way to deal with this potentially harmful substance. Considering alcohol is much more dangerous than either cannabis or MDMA, it also poses the question as to why one is legal and the others are illegal.

As you said, alcohol kills many people. Yet cannabis, which has never caused a single overdose death is illegal

The ABS figures on drug related deaths for the period 2004/5 are rather interesting .
http://www.drugfree.org.au/fileadmin/Media/Reference/DFA_DrugRelatedStats.pdf

Jethro said :

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Alcohol is legal. Alcohol kills many people.

milkman said :

Meh. Take illegal drugs, you take your chances.

Same with legal drugs!! Hahaha!

snoopydoc said :

The drug in question is very probably _not_ GHB, though it is related, and similar (but not identical) in its effects.

Bona fide drink spiking is actually quite uncommon these days.

Anyone offers you any yellow/green capsules in Canberra in the near future…. might be best to just say no…

From impactednurse:

“From one of our Docs re the bad GHB problem in Canberra right now:
‘?-Phenyl-?-aminobutyric acid… also known as “Phenibut”, is apparently the new party drug on the block. Kept both TCH and Calvary ED and ICUs busy today. Tis a GABA-active agent similar to GHB and baclofen.
Don’t dooo eeet, mun.
Guaranteed to not be fun… for you… or us… Apparently comes in a green/yellow capsule (or at least the batch circulating in Canberra at the moment does). Remember kiddies, unless you’re a Russian cosmonaut, you shouldn’t be taking it.’
Thanks for that Chris.”
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=449453121764243&id=253568074686083

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

The only reason these people were hospitalised is that the drugs were illegal.

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Legal drugs would have passed regulations. Illegal drugs are manufactured by crime gangs and cut with god-know-what in order to maximise profits.

Making drugs legal won’t stop stupid people using them in stupid ways, overdosing and dying. After all alcohol is legal and people die from that quite regularly.

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

A person who is a diagnosed heroin addict could access safe heroin through a doctor’s prescription and pharmacy or government outlet. They would therefore have access to medical help to treat their addiction without fear of being arrested, they would be getting a safe dose and they wouldn’t be committing crimes to pay the huge markup charged by crime gangs.

This would also help destroy the business model of drug dealers who seek to get users hooked onto harder and more addictive drugs. There’s no use making the effort to get someone addicted to heroin if they are just going to go and access safer and cheaper heroin through a doctor.

Exactly. And it’s not going to see a rise in drug users. People know what happens when you take hard drugs.
It’s not exactly hard to go buy some heroin you know?

I recon we need more of these dodgy pingers on the streets less drugos is only a good thing

kakosi said :

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

The only reason these people were hospitalised is that the drugs were illegal.

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Legal drugs would have passed regulations. Illegal drugs are manufactured by crime gangs and cut with god-know-what in order to maximise profits.

Making drugs legal won’t stop stupid people using them in stupid ways, overdosing and dying. After all alcohol is legal and people die from that quite regularly.

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

A person who is a diagnosed heroin addict could access safe heroin through a doctor’s prescription and pharmacy or government outlet. They would therefore have access to medical help to treat their addiction without fear of being arrested, they would be getting a safe dose and they wouldn’t be committing crimes to pay the huge markup charged by crime gangs.

This would also help destroy the business model of drug dealers who seek to get users hooked onto harder and more addictive drugs. There’s no use making the effort to get someone addicted to heroin if they are just going to go and access safer and cheaper heroin through a doctor.

The drug in question is very probably _not_ GHB, though it is related, and similar (but not identical) in its effects.

Bona fide drink spiking is actually quite uncommon these days.

Anyone offers you any yellow/green capsules in Canberra in the near future…. might be best to just say no…

DrKoresh said :

kakosi said :

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

Yeah, I guess so, but I mean, it has to be better than criminalising a percentage of the population. Think about it, the drugs would be controlled and clean, taxable and cheaper than black market prices. It’s possible everyone would turn into braindead junkies but it’s equally (if not more) likely that we would see a reduction in all forms of drug-related crimes. Besides, if you wanna get cynical about it, at least if the government was providing the junk then it would be a pretty simple endeavour to keep track of the junkies.

So you’d have the government supply potentially life-threatening dangerous drugs to people because you think that would make society less dangerous? Look at the havoc alcohol causes to people’s health and lives. And alcohol-related crime is on the rise. Overuse of legal drugs or illegal drugs helps no one and solves nothing.

And keeping “track of junkies” happens now because most of them are well-known to police or on methadone programs.

The recent problem with people getting sick from tablets they swallowed for a bit of “fun” is an indication of how stupid people are…not a sign governments should start handing out cocaine or heroin or any other stupid fad substance someone wants to shove up their arse.

kakosi said :

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

Yeah, I guess so, but I mean, it has to be better than criminalising a percentage of the population. Think about it, the drugs would be controlled and clean, taxable and cheaper than black market prices. It’s possible everyone would turn into braindead junkies but it’s equally (if not more) likely that we would see a reduction in all forms of drug-related crimes. Besides, if you wanna get cynical about it, at least if the government was providing the junk then it would be a pretty simple endeavour to keep track of the junkies.

Jethro said :

kakosi said :

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

The only reason these people were hospitalised is that the drugs were illegal.

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Legal drugs would have passed regulations. Illegal drugs are manufactured by crime gangs and cut with god-know-what in order to maximise profits.

Making drugs legal won’t stop stupid people using them in stupid ways, overdosing and dying. After all alcohol is legal and people die from that quite regularly.

And what would the warning label on heroin say: potentially fatal, will lead to dependence for life, inability to keep a job and stupidity?

DrKoresh said :

Martlark said :

Lets hope the manufacturer announces a recall soon. Looks like they dropped the ball on quality control. I demand the CEO make a public apology!

That’s why I don’t understand the war on drugs. You’re never gonna stamp out drug use, so why not legalise and heavily regulate illicit narcotics? Then you would have quality control and so on and so forth, save everyone a whole bunch of trouble.

QFT

kakosi said :

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

The only reason these people were hospitalised is that the drugs were illegal.

Drugs don’t kill people. Drug laws kill people. Simple fact.

Legal drugs would have passed regulations. Illegal drugs are manufactured by crime gangs and cut with god-know-what in order to maximise profits.

probably shouldn’t have said that…

Some people use GHB recreationally but it is extremely dangerous when mixed with alcohol and is commonly used by drink spikers.

If more illegal drugs were sold that actually killed people on the spot then people would probably stop trying them…just saying 🙂

Drugs are bad, m’kay…

DrKoresh said :

Martlark said :

Lets hope the manufacturer announces a recall soon. Looks like they dropped the ball on quality control. I demand the CEO make a public apology!

That’s why I don’t understand the war on drugs. You’re never gonna stamp out drug use, so why not legalise and heavily regulate illicit narcotics? Then you would have quality control and so on and so forth, save everyone a whole bunch of trouble.

Stop talking sense. It has no place in this climate of fear.

Watts up with that?

Meh. Take illegal drugs, you take your chances.

Martlark said :

Lets hope the manufacturer announces a recall soon. Looks like they dropped the ball on quality control. I demand the CEO make a public apology!

That’s why I don’t understand the war on drugs. You’re never gonna stamp out drug use, so why not legalise and heavily regulate illicit narcotics? Then you would have quality control and so on and so forth, save everyone a whole bunch of trouble.

Lets hope the manufacturer announces a recall soon. Looks like they dropped the ball on quality control. I demand the CEO make a public apology!