TEST YOUR DRUG KNOWLEDGE

CLUB DRUGS
What are they? Club drugs are used by teens and young adults at all-night dance parties (also knows as raves), dance clubs and bars. Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless and odorless, they can be added surreptitiously to beverages to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years there has been an increase in reports of these drugs being used to commit sexual assaults. Teens get the drugs from friends, at parties, dance clubs and bars and on the streets. The following are the most common club drugs:


ECSTASY (MDMA)
MDMA stands for 3-4-methylenedioxymethampheta-mine. It’s a synthetic, mind-altering drug with hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like properties. Ecstasy is known as a designer drug because it’s created specifically to make someone high.

Also known as XTC, Adam, E, roll or X

How it’s taken
Usually taken in pill or tablet form. The tablets are often branded with a Playboy bunny, a Nike swoosh, a smiley face, a heart, etc. It is also (infrequently) snorted in powder form or injected in liquid form.

Effects and dangers
Ecstasy is both a hallucinogenic and a stimulant. It makes users experience a rush of good feelings and makes all feelings - both good and bad - more intense. The effects usually last up to six hours. Chronic use appears to produce long-term damage to serotonin-containing neurons in the brain. It is believed to cause a variety of behavioral and cognitive problems and to impair memory. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as seizures, are possible. The drug’s stimulant effects can lead to users dancing for extended periods, which, when combined with the hot, crowded conditions found at many dance clubs, can lead to severe dehydration and a dramatic increase in body temperature. This can lead to muscle breakdown and kidney, liver and cardiovascular failure. Pills sold as ecstasy may not be ecstasy at all. It is frequently laced with cocaine, heroin, PCP or toxic chemicals such as rat poison.

Signs of abuse
Confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, paranoia, muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, chills, sweating.

Is it addicting?
Heavy ecstasy users whose serotonin is regularly depleted by the drug rely on greater quantities of ecstasy to produce smaller and smaller effects. According to Brown University, a study of young-adult and adolescent ecstasy users found that 43% were dependent and 34% met the criteria for drug abuse. Almost 60% of users reported both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms.

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GHB & ROHYPNOL
GHB stands for gamma hydroxybutyrate. Both GHB and Rohypnol are central-nervous-system depressants. Both emerged in the early 1990s as "date-rape" drugs.

Also known as GHB -  liquid ecstasy, soap; Rohypnol - roofies, rophies, roach, rope, the date-rape drug

How they are taken
Both come in tablet form. They can be swallowed as a pill or crushed and snorted. They are often dissolved in a drink. Both drugs may have a bitter taste when added to a drink. When placed in a light-colored drink, the newer versions of Rohypnol will turn the beverage blue. Teens should be advised to travel in groups and to watch out for one another at clubs and parties. They should not drink anything that that they did not see poured, did not open themselves or that someone else (other than a waiter) gave them. They should always watch their drink and not leave it unattended.

Effects and dangers
In lower doses, GHB causes a high or euphoric feeling as inhibitions are suppressed. In higher doses, it can cause coma and seizures. The heart rate may be slowed and breathing may become irregular. Effects last an average of 4 hours.
Rohypnol produces a sleepy, relaxed and drunk feeling that lasts 2 to 8 hours. Other effects may include blackouts with a complete loss of memory, dizziness and disorientation, nausea and difficulty with motor movements and speaking.

Signs of abuse
GHB - Appearance of being intoxicated, inhibition, muscle spasm, seizure-like movements, confusion, amnesia, vomiting, irregular breathing
Rohypnol - Sleepiness, amnesia, nausea, appearance of being intoxicated, difficulty speaking or with motor movements.

Are they addicting? Yes. Both can produce physical and psychological dependence.

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KETAMINE
Ketamine was developed in the early 1960s as an anesthetic for use during surgery and was also used on the battlefields of Vietnam as an anesthetic. It is currently used legitimately in veterinary medicine and occasionally in human medicine as an anesthetic.

Also known as special K, vitamin K, cat killer, cat valium, jet, ket, kit kat, purple, super acid, super K

How taken
It comes in a liquid, injectable form for legitimate use, such as in veterinary medicine. For other uses, it is commonly dried (in the oven, microwave or air-dried). The crusty residue is then ground into a fine powder that is most-often inhaled. Ketamine is odorless and tasteless, so it can be added to beverages without being detected, and it induces amnesia. It is sometimes used as a date-rape drug.

Effects and dangers
In high doses, it can cause hallucinations, delirium and amnesia. Users report sensations ranging from a pleasant feeling of floating to being separated from their bodies. Some Ketamine experiences involve a terrifying feeling of almost complete sensory detachment that is likened to a near-death experience. These experiences are referred to as being in the "K-hole." Low-dose use results in impaired attention, learning problems and impaired memory. In high doses, it can cause high blood pressure, depression and potentially fatal respiratory problems. Effects last 30 to 60 minutes, but judgment, coordination and senses may be affected for 18 to 24 hours.

Signs of abuse
Signs of Ketamine abuse can vary greatly. It may produce bursts of energy, slurred speech, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia, a buzzing sound in the ears, disorientation and mild-to-severe hallucinations. In larger doses or mixed with alcohol, it can cause vomiting.

Is it addicting? Tolerance and psychological dependence can develop with frequent exposure.

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LSD
 
LSD stands for lysergic acid diethylamide. It is a hallucinogen manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains.

Also known as acid

How taken Usually found on "blotter" paper (paper that is perforated into small squares). The squares or "tabs" may have been colored or have images printed on them. Liquid LSD is clear and usually comes in a small container, tube or flask. LSD can also be found in thin squares of gelatin. It is most often taken orally. The gelatin and liquid also can be put in the eyes.

Effects & dangers
The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount taken, the user’s mood and expectations and the surroundings in which the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the drug 30 to 90 minutes after taking it. Users may see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. They may experience rapid, intense emotional swings. Sensations may seem to "cross over," giving the user the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds. These changes can be frightening and can cause panic. LSD experiences are long. Typically they begin to clear after about 12 hours. Some users experience severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings, fear of losing control and fear of insanity and death. Some fatal accidents have occurred during states of LSD intoxication. Many users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a person’s LSD experience, without the user having taken the drug again. A flashback occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few days - or more than a year -  after LSD use.

Signs of abuse
Dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth and tremors. Hallucinating and intense mood swings are common.

Is LSD addicting?
Most users voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered to be addictive because it doesn’t produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior. However, LSD produces tolerance, so some users who take the drug repeatedly must take progressively higher doses to achieve the state of intoxication that they had previously achieved. This is an extremely dangerous practice, given the unpredictability of the drug.

Methamphetamine We have given this drug its own sidebar. Just click on methamphetamine.

Kathy Sena
Sources: ° The Partnership for a Drug-Free America (www.drugfree.org) ° The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (www.theantidrug.com) ° Project GHB (www.projectghb.org) ° The medical journal Pediatric Anesthesia. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (www.theantidrug.com)