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Across the country,teens and young adults enjoy all-night
dance parties known as "raves" and increasingly encounter
more than just music. Dangerous substances known collectively
as club drugs-including Ecstasy, GHB, and Rohypnol-are gaining
popularity. These drugs aren't "fun drugs."
Although users may think these substances are harmless,
research has shown that club drugs can produce a range of
unwanted effects, including hallucinations, paranoia, amnesia,
and, in some cases, death. When used with alcohol, these
drugs can be even more harmful. Some club drugs work on the
same brain mechanisms as alcohol and, therefore, can dangerously
boost the effects of both substances. Also, there are great
differences among individuals in how they react to these
substances and no one can predict how he or she will react.
Some people have been known to have extreme, even fatal,
reactions the first time they use club drugs. And studies
suggest club drugs found in party settings are often adulterated
or impure and thus even more dangerous.
Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless,they
are easy for people to slip into drinks. Some of these drugs
have been associated with sexual assaults, and for that reason
they are referred to as "date rape drugs."
An Introduction to Club Drugs
"X," "Adam," and "Ecstasy" are slang names for MDMA,
which is a stimulant and a hallucinogen. Young people may
use Ecstasy to improve their moods or get energy to keep
dancing; however, chronic abuse of MDMA appears to damage
the brain's ability to think and regulate emotion, memory,
sleep, and pain.
"G," "Liquid Ecstasy," "Georgia Home Boy" or Gamma-hydroxybutyrate
(GHB) may be made in homes by using recipes
with common ingredients. At lower doses, GHB can relax the
user, but, as the dose increases, the sedative effects may
result in sleep and eventual coma or death.
"Roofie" or "Roche" (Rohypnol) is tasteless
and odorless. It mixes easily in carbonated beverages. Rohypnol
may cause individuals under the influence of the drug to
forget what happened. Other effects include low blood pressure,
drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, and stomach upset.
"Special K" or "K" (Ketamine) is an anesthetic.
Use of a small amount of ketamine results in loss of attention
span, learning ability, and memory. At higher doses, ketamine
can cause delirium, amnesia, high blood pressure, depression,
and severe breathing problems.
"Speed," "Ice," "Chalk," "Meth" (Methamphetamine)
is often made in home laboratories. Methamphetamine use can
cause serious health concerns, including memory loss, aggression,
violence, psychotic behavior, and heart problems.
"Acid" or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
may cause unpredictable behavior depending on the amount
taken, where the drug is used, and on the user's personality.
A user might feel the following effects: numbness, weakness,
nausea, increased heart rate, sweating, lack of appetite, "flashbacks," and
sleeplessness.
Research Continues
"Raves" or all-night dance parties continue to attract teens
and young adults who may think MDMA, GHB, Rohypnol, and other
club drugs are harmless. This is not true. While researchers
continue to study club drugs with a sense of urgency, treatment
and prevention strategies are being developed. And the bottom
line is simple: even experimenting with club drugs is an
unpredictable and dangerous thing to do.
Thank you to Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., Director,
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of
Health. For more information, call the
clearinghouse at 1-8OO-729-6686 or visit the National Institute
on Drug Abuse's special web site at http://www.clubdrugs.org.
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