{"id":6565,"date":"2025-07-19T19:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T19:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/6565\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T19:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T19:04:10","slug":"how-the-cost-of-living-crisis-is-making-younger-aussies-ditch-expensive-alcohol-for-a-deadly-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/6565\/","title":{"rendered":"How the cost-of-living crisis is making younger Aussies ditch expensive alcohol for a deadly drug"},"content":{"rendered":"

By NICK WILSON AND MAX ALDRED FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA <\/p>\n

Published: 12:35 EDT, 19 July 2025 | Updated: 12:35 EDT, 19 July 2025 <\/p>\n

Overdoses related to the deadly ‘don’t wake up’ drug have skyrocketed among Australians in recent years as some fear financial pressures may be pushing young people towards hard substances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gamma hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB, is being used by an increasingly large number of younger Aussies.<\/p>\n

Many believe its low cost, accessibility, and mind-altering effects are making it an increasingly popular alternative to alcohol.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The drug has attracted global attention due to the notoriously small margin of error between the amount used for an average recreational dosage and an overdose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The effects – relaxation, sociability, euphoria and an increased sex drive – can be felt within 15 minutes. But, even a slight overdose of the drug can prove fatal.<\/p>\n

The number of GHB-related ambulance callouts has surged across Australia in recent years according to new research from Monash University and Turning Point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victoria is the national capital for GHB-related ambulance attendances, with 65.8 attendances per 100,000 people in 2023.<\/p>\n

It represented a 67 per cent increase from the year prior, following a 147 per cen<\/a>t\u00a0increase across the state between 2012 and 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GHB <\/p>\n

GHB is notorious for the thin margin of error between overdose and recreational dosages<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The drug is increasingly popular across Australia, particularly among young people<\/p>\n

Attendances also spiked in Tasmania, increasing by 346 per cent between 2022 and 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reformed ice dealer Braiden Tonks recently told Daily Mail Australia GHB was on the rise nationwide for its sought-after side-effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It just slows your heart right down, puts you into a completely relaxed state where your heart will just slowly beat and just slowly just stop, that’s how you die from it,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘It’s not like an instant bang of being stabbed, I’m dead. It’s just slow, just like, go to sleep, don’t wake up.’<\/p>\n

Young people are more likely both to abuse the drug and to require emergency help following GHB use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Affordability aside, some believe financial pressures are contributing to an appetite for harder substances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Canberra emergency consulant Dr David Caldicott told ABC News<\/a> its promise of ‘escape’ from reality was more influential than its afforability.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I think young people are looking for an escape from what really does not appear to be a very attractive future for them,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GHB-related <\/p>\n

GHB-related ambulance callouts are on the rise across Australia\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Victoria <\/p>\n

Victoria has the highest rate of GHB-related ambulance callouts in Australia<\/p>\n

‘I think that’s probably a considerably more important element than the cost.’<\/p>\n

Uncover Mental Health Counselling founder and psychotherapist Kristie Tse said financial pressures were engendering a ‘need for relief’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘One of the biggest drivers is the desire to escape or cope with stress, which has been exacerbated by rising financial pressures and uncertainty about the future,’ she told NewsWire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘The cost of living plays into this, as financial strain can lead to heightened anxiety and a need for relief, which some may seek through substance use.’<\/p>\n

One Touch finance founder Maria Rosey told NewsWire cost-of-living pressures can create circumstances where substance use is seen as more acceptable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘As money stress becomes more common, so does the acceptance of substances as coping mechanisms,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘The increase in GHB use during the money crisis shows us that substance use problems can\u2019t be solved by focusing only on the substances themselves.<\/p>\n

‘We need to address the conditions that make people turn to substances in the first place.’<\/p>\n

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