3.00 pm
A young Auckland man has died after taking the drug GHB, or Fantasy, in what is thought to be the first fatality connected with the party drug in New Zealand and Australia.
The 22-year-old was declared brain dead in Auckland Hospital at 3.30pm yesterday.
He had been admitted to intensive care
on Friday night after collapsing at a Ponsonby house suffering from drug poisoning related to gamma-hydroxy-butyrate (GHB), also known as Fantasy.
His girlfriend was also admitted unconscious, but was discharged on Saturday after six hours on a ventilator.
Intensive care specialist Dr Tony Smith said when ambulance officers reached the man his heart had already stopped beating.
They managed to get back a heart beat but his brain was already damaged.
Three other people were admitted unconscious to Auckland Hospital this weekend after taking Fantasy.
The three were later discharged.
Dr Smith was angry at "rumours" the drug could be taken safely when clearly it couldn't unless a trained resuscitator was standing nearby.
People taking the drug were playing Russian roulette, he said
GHB induces feelings of pleasure and harmony, but can cause people to lapse into unconsciousness.
It was used in the 1960s to induce anaesthesia but withdrawn after it stopped some patients breathing.
