This month's edition looks at one of the most controversial recreational drugs in existence.

In April of this year, Michel Delpuech, the prefect of the Paris police, told Le Parisien that there could be 100 comas in the city this year due to GHB or GBL overdoses. This was following the death of a 24-year-old man, who fell into a coma at the venue Petit Bain after accidentally drinking GBL from a water bottle he found.

If you've been in and around clubs in recent years, there's a high chance you've heard stories about people falling unconscious or worse after taking GHB. It's a drug of choice in what's become known as the chem sex scene, where gay men take GHB in order to have sex for an extended period of time. GHB is also the so-called date rape drug. A small amount slipped into a drink can lead to a person falling unconscious and open to sexual assault, with little or no memory of what happened to them. On top of all of this, GHB can be highly addictive.

So why do people take GHB? What exactly does it do? And why can it be lethal?

NHS Chem Sex Support
Antidote: LGBT Drug Support
Frank: GHB Facts And Safety

Producer /
Martha Pazienti Caidan