[malandrew]

I also found that part very dramatic as someone who has a GHB prescription for cataplexy. Does the drug have a checkered past? Yes, but a lot of the public sentiment towards it is the result of journalistic histrionics.

For years it was sold over the counter at GNC to body builders because of its impact on prolactin levels in the body, and AFAIK it is the only known substance that mimics natural sleep. It improves REM sleep and stages 3 & 4 of slow-wave sleep.

I myself have one of the few known cases of very very mild cataplexy, so I don't absolutely have to have GHB to function, but for most people who also test positive for the HLA marker DQB1*0602 and have severe cataplexy, GHB is an absolute life saver. These people don't really experience and long term psychological effects as would be implied by the scare words used in the paragraph describing GHB. Yes, it has powerful CNS depressive effects and can be lethal in high doses, but those effects are pretty much only applicable while under the influence of the drug and not after your body has metabolized it and flushed it from the body.

[saalweachter]

Reading the backs and forths of various drugs and medical treatments over the years has left me with two overall lessons:

* A drug with horrific potential side effects can be worth it, if the condition it is treating is worse. For instance, a drug which can cause strokes might be worth it to prevent horrible seizures, but not to prevent mild hay fever.

* Even if a drug can be abused, it doesn't change the fact that some people legitimately need it. You see this most in pain management, where people who need powerful pain killers just to function face criminal charges and roadblocks to getting the medicine they need.