Use and harms of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) with Amy Peacock and Krista Siefried

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Dr Amy Peacock, an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, and Dr Krista Siefried, a Clinical Research Lead and Deputy Director, of the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The interview covers two research articles: 1) Amy’s article on trends in gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use, harms and treatment in Australia and 2) Krista’s article on emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and police seizure data related to GHB in New South Wales, Australia.

• What is GHB? [01:30]
• Why is GHB an important drug to examine in the Australian population [02:30]
• The data sources Amy used in her study [04:20]
• The data sources Krista used in her study [06:45]
• The key findings of the study [08:21]
• Metabolites of GHB and risks of consuming GHB with alcohol [13:20]
• The implications of the findings for policy and treatment in Australia [14:04]
• The reasons behind the recent increase of GHB in Australia [16:30]
• The take home messages [19:14]

About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group, and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle holds voluntary roles at The Loop, a non-profit service provider of drug checking in the UK and the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy.

About Amy Peacock: Amy is an Associate Professor, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Emerging Leadership Fellow and Deputy Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales. She is also Program Lead for Drug Trends, a national monitoring system identifying trends in illicit drug use, markets and harms that is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

About Krista Siefried: Krista is Clinical Research Lead and Deputy Director, the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the UNSW National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), and St Vincent's Hospital Sydney Alcohol and Drug Service. Krista works towards evidence-based interventions to reduce harm and improve healthcare for people who use drugs. Her leadership emphasises collaborative research, deep community engagement, and practical outcomes to address the needs of individuals, families, and frontline service providers.

Declarations of interest: Krista is employed by the UNSW and St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, she has no other conflicts to declare.

Original articles:

Emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and police seizure data related to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in New South Wales, Australia, from 2015 to 2024 https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70202

Trends in gamma-hydroxybutyrate use, harms and treatment in Australia, 2013 to 2024 https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70308

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