All Out with Jon Dean The Rise of G (GBL/GHB): Why Gay Men Take It To Have Sex (Pt. 4)
Aug 20, 2025
Dr. Emmert Roberts, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Addiction Psychiatry at King’s College London, gives evidence-based advice on G (GBL/GHB). He explains overdose risks and why mixing with alcohol or benzos is dangerous. Topics include how G is consumed, its disinhibiting and sexual effects, dosing and redosing tips, recognising and responding to overdoses, changing user patterns, and harm-reduction resources.
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GBL Has A Narrow Overdose Window
- GBL (liquid G) has a narrow therapeutic index so the margin between desired effect and overdose is very small.
- Alcohol and benzodiazepines act on GABA too, so combining them with G dramatically increases overdose and respiratory depression risk.
GBL Use Is Expanding Beyond Chemsex Scenes
- G use has expanded beyond chemsex among men who have sex with men into broader party scenes and some women.
- Drug trends shift with culture, availability and apps like Grindr, widening G's user profile over recent years.
GBL Dramatically Intensifies Sexual Pleasure
- Users report G dramatically increases sexual pleasure and orgasm intensity, which helped drive its popularity in sexualized drug settings.
- Combined with changing sexual culture and hookup apps, those subjective effects reinforced uptake in chemsex scenes.