Club Drugs:

Club drugs are being used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars. MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity. NIDA-supported (National Institute on Drug Abuse) research has shown that use of club drugs can cause serious health problems and, in some cases, even death. Used in combination with alcohol, these drugs can be even more dangerous.

Club drugs are attractive to today’s youth because they are inexpensive and produce increased stamina and intoxicating highs. Because many of these drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be secretly added to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others.

Research has shown that club drugs can have long-lasting negative effects on the brain, especially on memory function and motor skills. When club drugs are combined with alcohol, the effect is intensified, and they become even more dangerous and potentially fatal.

The most widely used club drugs are:

• Ecstasy. Also known as MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), Ecstasy is a stimulant that combines the effects of amphetamines and hallucinogens.
• Rohypnol. Known as the “date rape drug,” Rohypnol is a central nervous system depressant that produces sedative-hypnotic effects, muscle relaxation, and amnesia.
• Ketamine. A rapid-acting general anesthetic, ketamine produces a wide range of feelings, from weightlessness to out-of-body or near-death experiences.
• GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate). Originally available over the counter in health food stores to aid body builders, GHB and other synthetic steroids are also used for their euphoric effects.
• LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). This hallucinogen produces unpredictable effects, depending on the amount taken, the surroundings in which the drug is used, and the user’s personality, mood, and expectations.
• Among the club drugs discussed in this page, methamphetamine accounts for the largest use and is most frequent in metropolitan areas in the western U.S.
• LSD is the next most common in emergency department (ED) visit mentions, followed by GHB, MDMA (Ecstasy), Rohypnol, and Ketamine.
• ED episodes involving club drugs usually involve multiple substances, such as marijuana, cocaine, and other club drugs. Alcohol is a particularly common factor in these episodes.
• ED episodes related to GHB, Ketamine, and MDMA increased significantly from 1994 to 1999, and GHB and MDMA mentions increased dramatically from 1997 to 1999.
• Young people are disproportionately represented in ED visits involving club drugs.
• Cumulatively, 2601 deaths associated with methamphetamine abuse, 46 deaths associated with Ketamine and 27 with MDMA were reported by participating medical examiners over the 5-year period from 1994 to 1998.
  
  Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Prevention Alert: Club Drugs: A New Community Threat (Volume 3, Number 24 ed.) Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved September 23, 2002 from the World Wide Web:http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/prevalert/v3i24.aspx

  Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. DAWN Report: Club Drugs (PHD856)Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved September 23, 2002 from the World Wide Web:http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/DAWN/clubdrug.htm

Call us anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a free assessment. One of the owners will always answer the calls directly and be able to provide you or a family member with the guidance you need. We give people their lives back everday!

1-800-559-9503