March 2026
Hospitalisation and deaths from gamma-hydroxybutyrate use increasing in Australia
By Melanie Hinze
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use, harms and treatment engagement have increased in Australia over the past decade, finds new research.
Published in Addiction, the research analysed annual trend data from Australian triennial population surveys and annual interviews with cross-sectional, nonrepresentative samples of people who use illicit stimulants or who inject drugs. The study authors also looked at GHB-related hospitalisations, deaths and treatment episodes where GHB was the principal drug of concern.
They found that past 12-month GHB use in the general population had increased but remained below 0.2%. Among those who used illicit stimulants, past six-month use increased from 5.7% in 2013 to 7.3% in 2017, and from 5.4% in 2019 to 11.5% in 2024. Furthermore, around one in six people who injected drugs reported GHB use in the past six months.
Statistically significant increases in GHB-related hospitalisations were also seen, with an increase from 5.3 per 100,000 people in 2012–13 to 19.1 per 100,000 people in 2022–23. GHB-related deaths also increased from 0.02 per 100,00 people in 2013 to 0.24 per 100,000 people in 2022.
First author, Associate Professor Amy Peacock, Program Lead of Drug Trends and Deputy Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Sydney, said that although the overall prevalence of GHB use and its precursors, 1,4-butanediol and gamma-butyrolactone, remained low in Australia, reported use was increasing and associated harms were rising. This was evidenced by marked increases in deaths, hospitalisations and treatment episodes over the past decade.
‘These findings highlight the value of routinely considering GHB as part of a comprehensive substance use history,’ she said. ‘They also support providing clear advice about overdose risk, especially with repeated dosing or mixing with alcohol and other depressants, and maintaining awareness that dependence and withdrawal can develop quickly.’
Associate Professor Peacock told Medicine Today that GHB use was not confined to any single demographic group, and even infrequent use could result in severe toxicity due to the narrow margin between a dose that produced euphoric or relaxing effects and one that caused loss of consciousness.
‘Education on recognising and responding to overdose, along with clear referral pathways for alcohol and other drug treatment, will be increasingly important with rising harm,’ she said.