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Myth

"GHB can be reliably dosed by bottle cap."

review pending

Content is undergoing medical and legal review. Changes possible.

What's behind it

The myth comes from the early days of GHB use in European club scenes — before clear, standardized dosing existed. A capful was intuitive and "by feel".

What's actually true

  • Capfuls vary by a factor of 2–3 depending on bottle and cap shape — an espresso cap holds different amounts than a sports-drink cap.
  • GHB has a very narrow therapeutic window: the effective dose and the dose causing respiratory depression are often only a factor of 2–4 apart.
  • GBL, as a precursor, is even more concentrated and acts faster — a capful of GBL can be fatal.

What follows

Dose GHB and GBL only with a pipette or syringe (converted to mg/ml). Never by eye, never by cap volume, never from someone else's bottle without a known concentration.

GHB emergencies in Berlin are clinically documented and in most cases trace back to dosing errors, not to mixed use alone. A standardized pipette or syringe is easily accessible and the only responsible approach.

Practical setup:

  • Know your bottle’s concentration or have it tested (drug checking via drugchecking.berlin or Eclipse e.V.)
  • A 1 ml pipette with a clear scale
  • Write down the maximum dose and minimum interval between doses, or track them in an app
  • Don’t dose from shared, unlabeled bottles

Anyone who keeps the “cap myth” alive is dosing Russian roulette — experienced users die from it too.

Sources

  • EUDA Drug Profile GHB
  • TripSit Factsheet GHB / GBL
  • Klinisch dokumentierte G-Lock-Tote in Berliner Notaufnahmen (Eclipse e.V., DROBS)