making g was easy when GBL was (semi)legal. the lactone precursor, i've heard, can even be consumed w/o undergoing the rxn, it will convert in your body. but smell that sh*t, the industrial cleaner stuff, and theres no way i'd try it straight up. about the endorphin release- i always thought that g-hydroxybutyrate just binded your natural GABA receptors, because GHB and GABA are structurally similar. and that the effect was opening chloride ion channels, like alcohol, but in a much more specific way. hence the unique effects of G vs alcohol. it has been a few years since my chemistry days, though...