The Independent - Front Page

Today's Indo says that GHB is ecstacy. Is it not illegal to post blatent lies on the front page of a newspaper?

The only reason they're doing it is because of the red-top scaretactics used to sell newspapers. No one knows or cares about GBH so let's just call in ecstacy instead. I know it's nickname is liquid ecstacy but it doesn't say this on the front page.. Just ecstacy.

BS.

Kradock

Reading the Indo is your first mistake

My name is URL

The article looks like it was written by a teenager

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/gardai-hunt-for-source-of-horror-party-drug-1930791.html

The tasteless, odourless chemical GHB is so potent it has become notorious as a 'date-rape' drug, with side effects including memory loss and even a coma.

aidan_walsh

Wasn't the druggie connoisseur rigtheous indignation thing already done yesterday?

mikom

Deleted User wrote: »

Today's Indo says that GHB is ecstacy.

Can't be............ as it's spelled ecstasy

TheZohanS

Indo: online version

Although it is called liquid E, it is not like ecstasy and its effects differ.
GHB is a bit like alcohol, only more potent. A capful can make you confident, happy and relaxed but too much will make the user dizzy, sick and confused.

AnonoBoy

A cardboard skeleton and a rubber mask still hung outside the door of one apartment.

Oh the horror of it all! Nice reporting there Indo Minion #232A5. :rolleyes:

mikom

TheZohan wrote: »

A capful can make you confident, happy and relaxed but too much will make the user dizzy, sick and confused.

Much like After hours

Wertz

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Wasn't the druggie connoisseur rigtheous indignation thing already done yesterday?

Yes but obviously some of our journalistic lurkers weren't paying attention.

I just heard some woman from the Aisling centre on the local radio phone in give similar semi-facts [edit] although to be fair she did make the distinction between GHB and MDMA...she latched on to the date rape and coma thing pretty quickly...when questioned by the host about an attempt by the Merchant's Quay project to actually realise that people are going to take drugs irregardless of legality and warnings, and that harm reduction by targetted safety campaigns regarding advice on dosages, interactions and generally staying safe was the best way forward, she poohed poohed the ideas, generally stating that abstinence should be practiced and taht informing people of safe ways to take drugs was not the message they wanted to send.

I have little time for the Aisling centre...it seems everytime there's a drug issue to be discussed on the radio one of their ladies turn up with the same tired old arguments and rhetoric. [edit] I have no doubt they provide a good service to recovering addicts in the eastern region but I fail to see why their opinion is constantly sought by the Irish media anytime any drug related news item comes around.

[edit] Interesting that the online version of the indo managed to be a bit less alarmist and more accurately written than the print version. I guess the moral here is to stop buying newspapers...

Kradock

Kradock wrote: »

Reading the Indo is your first mistake

Break time in work.. Not much choice.

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Wasn't the druggie connoisseur rigtheous indignation thing already done yesterday?

This thread is a dig at what used to be a good newspaper

mikom wrote: »

Can't be............ as it's spelled ecstasy

:rolleyes:

TheZohan wrote: »

Indo: online version

Paper edition is different in this case.

wudangclan

Deleted User wrote: »

Paper edition is different in this case.

obviously changed it after reading this thread.

humanji

How can someone overdose on a hair straightener?

Prof.Badass

Refering to GHB as liquid ecstacy is irresponsible tbh. Especially from a broadsheet you'd expect better.

I'm baffled as to how this made front page news (it was also first story on the news last night). I guess they were looking for an anti-social halloween story but because halloween was a washout this was the best they could come up with.

It annoys me to see daily-maile style adjectives used to describe ghb, a drug which i believe deserves to be legalised before cannabis,mdma, mushrooms ect. Leaving out the specifics of the story (which i don't know about) this is how I would have written the rest of the article:

GHB.
GHB (a compound naturally occuring in the body) was first synthesised in 1874 and entered medical use in the 1960s. It is currently used to treat insomnia, narcolepsy and alcoholism with research being conducted into it's use for other conditions.
The drug, which has gained popularity amoung the clubbing scene is often used for it's euphoric effects said to be somewhat simmilar to alcohol. It is thought to be non-toxic in the long term, however on the street it often comes dissolved in a solution of unknown concentration making it difficult to accurately estimate dosage, which can lead to overdoses.
Victims of overdose usually make a full recovery once the drug leaves their system although it can prove fatal when taken in especially high doses or (more commonly) consumed alongside another sedative such as alcohol.


Some campaigners are calling on government to increase awareness of the dangers of ghb, saying there needs to be more education on the dangers of mixing sedatives, particularly ghb as it often comes in a solution of unknown conentration.

A campaign saying not to take GBH with alcohol should be the approach taken.. I only found this fact out a few months ago on another website. People should be educated about potentially lethal drugs that you can find in nightclubs.

Basically,
Don't take heroin.
Don't waste your money on coke.
Don't mix alcohol with GBH.
Don't take so many pills, your jaws end up welded together.

SV

grievous bodily harm?

Terry

vinylmesh wrote: »

Refering to GHB as liquid ecstacy is irresponsible tbh. Especially from a broadsheet you'd expect better.

Referring to the indo as a broadsheet is irresponsible.

SV wrote: »

grievous bodily harm?

Grievously harmed body?

CreepingDeath

Deleted User wrote: »

Is it not illegal to post blatent lies on the front page of a newspaper?

No it's not illegal, it just makes baby Jesus cry.