By Terry Gotham
Every time issues of consent come up on the playa or in the regional Burner community, “date rape” drugs such as GHB are inevitably mentioned. To help people make smart choices both about what they do personally and what substances they want at their events, I spoke to Dr. Joseph Palamar at NYU, widely quoted expert on substance abuse & recreational drug use, to make sure the readers of Burners.me got the best information available about the drug. If y’all like this, let me know, and I’ll try to bring on more experts for these harm reduction posts.
GHB has largely become a boogeyman in the drug world. Even though it is the literal best case practice treatment for narcolepsy, it’s become associated with irresponsible choices & shady characters over the years. While many Burners enjoy it recreationally, the label of date rape drug has stuck and there’s a large gap in a lot of drug education and messaging surrounding it. Just because it’s assumed that the majority of the people using it are using it “on” other people doesn’t necessarily make it true. For everyone who isn’t trying to violate the consent of people on & off playa, here’s a quick set of frank tips that should serve you well if you’re trying to hang with Xyrem.