An illegal drug used to boost sex drive during three-day chemsex marathons is on the rise again on Dublin's streets.
Dr Chris Luke, a leading Irish doctor has said that GHB is one of the main drivers of a rampant resurgence of HIV infections in gay men.
The chemical killer GHB was once a date rape drug that has the same effect as ecstasy in small doses but now is used more on the party scene.
'G', an industrial paint stripper, was linked strongly to the gay community but is now available in greater quantities across the Irish drug scene.
A source said: "There is a lot of evidence that this drug is back in large quantities again. It is probably that a large quantity has been smuggled into the country to meet demand.
"The drug has been around for years but comes and goes in popularity. It is predominantly used to boost sex drives of users to engage in long term sex parties but also has a euphoric effect.
"It comes in powder form or in liquid and is being found a lot in particular affluent communities."
Dr Chris Luke the Adjutant Senior Lecturer in Public Health in UCC and a former frontline Emergency Department medic said a rise in HIV is being blamed on the drug.
He said: "It is a transient euphoriant so it gives you a euphoric high that is very short lived. It tends to be taken at after parties, after clubbing or at events.
"It is very famously part of the chemsex scene, the gay clubbing scene, and it bleeds over into the hetrosexual world.
"It is famously used as a date rape drug and is one of the few drugs that can be used as a liquid - it reaches the parts that other areas that can't be reached.
"It is a sex drug ultimately, it is an aid to rampant sex, an aphrodisiac. Chemsex is the main driver and is the massive driver in the resurgence of HIV in the gay community.
"We have seen the highest levels of HIV in 30 years because of Chemsex. They are orgies that go on for two or three days, that are drug fuelled."
The chemsex is fuelled by a cocktail of drugs according to Dr Luke.
He added: "They take methamphetamine, new sythetic drugs and the GHB. In the past they were known as date rape drugs and would have been poured in someone's drink.
"They become comatose and they can be raped or robbed or both - I was in Amsterdam recently at a conference and it is very popular in places like that but now, of course, in Dublin."
Dr Luke believes it is a constant cycle with drugs as public demand waxes and wanes.
He explained: "The thing about drugs is that they are always cyclical and the GHB has been around for 50 or 60 years and they come and go.
"They are rediscovered, there are some casualties or calamitous stories and they pull away again. The gay chemsex scene is completely rampant around these islands, in Dublin especially, but there is a direct link to the rise in HIV."
