[vsef]

GHB is a great alcohol substitute in many ways but also has an extremely unforgiving dose response curve with doses that can't be safely eyeballed and that build up in unpredictable ways over successive dosings. The lethal to effective dose ratio is worse than for alcohol, with doses that are much smaller and easier to accidentally ingest. Almost all regular users will have overshot the mark and knocked themselves out at some point, the edge for this level of mild overdose is much lower and sharper than for alcohol.

It is safer than alcohol in terms of properly dosed effects, but it has many safety drawbacks in terms of using safely in public social settings the way alcohol is used.

It's not just regulatory difficulties with it as an alcohol substitute.