GHB is a popular and dangerous party drug taken in liquid form.

The first patient, a young woman, was admitted to St Vincent’s in Darlinghurst on Friday after she was found on the street with a bruise on her head. Three partygoers brought in on Saturday are still in intensive care, while a fourth required resuscitation.

Another patient who arrived on Sunday also remains in the ICU, while one died after they arrived at the hospital.

“This is the danger of taking street drugs,” director of emergency Gordian Fulde told news.com.au. “If anybody’s got any G, put it down the toilet. It’s a bad batch that could kill you.

“This is a prime example of how these things aren’t worth dying for.”

GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate), and its more potent variant GBL (gammabutyrolactone), is a highly addictive chemical anaesthetic, sold as a colourless, odourless liquid. Also known as “coma in a bottle”, Fantasy or Gina, it can cause loss of consciousness, memory loss and respiratory problems.

It is particularly dangerous when combined with other depressants, such as alcohol, and is sometimes used as a date rape drug.

Professor Gordian Fulde said eight patients were admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney after GHB overdoses this weekend.Source:News Corp Australia

“It’s very easy to overdose on this drug,” Geoff Munro, national policy manager at the Australian Drug Foundation, told news.com.au. “Especially when you’re taking it from the street, since you don’t know how strong it is.

“It slows the breathing. An overdose can result in dying because you’ve stopped breathing.

“There’s very little room between a therapeutic dose and an overdose. It’s a very strong substance that can quickly shut down the body.”

Mr Munro said only a small proportion of Australians are believed to have taken GHB, less than one per cent, but Australian Federal Police have been coming across more of the drug at the border.

The Australian Border Force made a record seizure of the drug last December, when a 37-year-old allegedly tried to smuggle 62 litres of GBL into the country.

“This is a dangerous substance, capable of ruining many lives in a single incident,” said ABF Regional Commander NSW Tim Fitzgerald at the time.

Last August, Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund found that French millionaire David Monlun, 40, had either overdosed accidentally or was deliberately given a dangerous dose of GHB by his on-off girlfriend at his Sydney home.

Full House actor John Stamos was allegedly high on GHB when he was arrested for driving under the influence last October.

In 2006, 18-year-old Nathan Skropeta died of a GHB overdose at the Sydney home of Bennett Melville, who allegedly had a history of giving men the drug and having sex with them.

To get help with GHB or other drug issues, contact the Australian Drugs Information Network.

If you or someone you know has been affected by GHB and you would like to share your story, email emma.reynolds@news.com.au.