Young people and the unpredictable dangers of "sea water" drugs

Bottles of seawater and powdered drugs. Illustration: INT

However, many people are still not fully aware of the harmful effects of stimulants in general and seawater drugs in particular.

Sleep all night long, do not wake up

VTH (25 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) felt unwell after attending an all-night party. She stopped by a new friend's house to stay overnight, but then fell into a coma, had weak breathing, and had to be hospitalized at People's Hospital 115 (Ho Chi Minh City) in a state of cyanosis, respiratory failure, and threatened respiratory arrest.

The patient was intubated, put on a ventilator and transferred to the Intensive Care Unit - Anti-Poisoning Department for monitoring. After 12 hours of treatment, the girl was fortunate to recover completely without any neurological sequelae. According to the story, H. used seawater drugs and a large amount of alcohol.

Similarly, another case was a 20-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital in a state of agitation, lethargy, and agitated behavior. After using “sea water” mixed with alcohol, he developed unusual symptoms. After 24 hours of monitoring and symptomatic treatment, the patient regained consciousness, controlled his behavior, and was discharged.

Many other patients said that this substance initially makes users feel happy, relaxed, approachable, happy, feelings that are easy to deceive and create the illusion of safety. However, after only about 15 minutes, users quickly fall into a state of dizziness, lightheadedness, lethargy, nausea, visual disturbances, and even coma due to respiratory failure. Many cases after waking up no longer remember what happened before.

According to Dr. Cao Hoai Tuan Anh - People's Hospital 115, GHB was initially studied for anesthesia, alcohol withdrawal and treatment of sleep disorders under close medical supervision. However, this substance was later abused as a drug. GHB is a liquid, colorless, odorless, slightly salty, has sedative and central nervous system inhibitory effects, easily leading to serious health consequences.

GHB is classified in category IIC according to Decree 57/2022/ND-CP dated August 25, 2022 of the Government regulating the categories of narcotic substances and precursors. In the world , GHB is also known as "rape drug" or "club drug".

In Vietnam, it is often called “sea water” or “Vitamin G”. This drug is often abused at parties, especially when mixed with alcohol, increasing the risk of poisoning and serious complications.

Patient treated at Central Psychiatric Hospital 2 ( Dong Nai ).

Quality of life decline

Dr. Tuan Anh said that many people mistakenly believe that GHB is a safe substance, only creating a feeling of excitement without causing long-term effects. This is a misconception. The drug “sea water” causes short-term effects such as loss of alertness, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, loss of awareness, and is especially dangerous when participating in traffic.

Some cases are also sexually abused. In addition, it also causes movement disorders, loss of coordination, leading to household or traffic accidents, agitated behavior, violence, loss of control, causing harm to the user and those around them.

Dr. Tran Huy Nhat - People's Hospital 115, Ho Chi Minh City warns that in the long term, GHB affects memory, cognition, causes brain function decline, and reduces learning ability. When combined with alcohol, the risk of low blood pressure, respiratory failure, and even cardiac arrest increases.

The case of the male patient mentioned above is a typical example. In these cases, it is extremely important to get the patient to a medical facility promptly. In addition, long-term use of GHB can lead to psychological disorders, anxiety, depression and many other mental disorders.

Dr. Nguyen Quang Huy - Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Central Psychiatric Hospital 2 (Dong Nai) stated that "seawater" and other drugs seriously affect the digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Hospitalized patients are often in a state of nervous excitement, with disorders such as: Emotions, thoughts, behaviors and senses. They often talk nonsense, laugh or cry abnormally, and have dangerous actions such as cursing, beating people, and destroying property. These actions are not only dangerous to the patient themselves, but also threaten those around them.

“When entering the body, drugs directly affect the central nervous system, affecting the cerebral hemispheres and causing severe symptoms such as neurotoxicity, memory loss, neuritis, coma or loss of consciousness.

The level of disorder depends on the dosage and frequency of use,” Dr. Huy informed and recommended, absolutely do not use drugs or stimulants in any form. When attending a party, you need to carefully observe the drinks, be wary of strangers offering drinks and do not try even once.

Families need to pay attention and monitor their children, and when they see unusual signs, they need to coordinate with authorities to intervene promptly. “At the same time, children should be taken to a community education center. If there are signs of poisoning, they should be taken to a medical facility immediately. With signs of psychological instability, they should go to a specialist for early consultation and treatment, helping to reduce costs, difficulties and unfortunate consequences,” Dr. Huy emphasized.

Seawater drug (Gamma hydroxybutyrate - GHB) is regulated in No. 172, Section IIC, List II of the Appendix issued with Decree 57/2022/ND-CP. According to legal experts, the act of illegally buying and selling liquid GHB from 750ml or more can be prosecuted under Point g, Clause 4, Article 251 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended by Clause 68, Article 1, Law amending the 2017 Penal Code.

According to giaoducthoidai.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/gioi-tre-va-hiem-hoa-khon-luong-tu-ma-tuy-nuoc-bien-post399944.html