Club Drugs and Dangers of Them

All night dance parties known as “raves” or “trances” are spreading throughout the United States and Europe. The six most popular “club drugs” commonly associated with rave parties are:

1. methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or Ecstasy)
2. flunitrazepam (Rohypnol)
3. gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
4. ketamine
5. methamphetamine
6. lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

The use of these drugs can cause substantial damage to unwary people. In high doses, many of them can cause muscle breakdown, heart failure, and in some cases death. Taking drugs in combination with alcohol only exacerbates their toxicity, thereby increasing the danger.

Rohypnol, Ketamine, and GHB are the drugs frequently associated with with “date rape” or “acquaintance rape” because of their colorless, tasteless, and odorless characteristics, and also the ease of putting these drugs into an unsuspecting victim’s drinks.

Ecstasy (MDMA, E, X, XTE, Adam) – Ecstasy, often referred to as the “hug drug” reduces shyness and anxiety and produces feelings of extreme relaxation and empathy. The effects of ecstasy can last 3 – 6 hours accompanied by psychological difficulties that include confusion, depression, sleep problems, severe anxiety, and paranoia, can occur even a week after the drug is taken. Physical difficulties can include muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating. To reduce involuntary teeth grinding and jaw clenching, users at rave parties may be seen sucking on pacifiers or lollipops.

High doses of ecstasy can cause seizures, hyperthermia, and rhabdomyolysis. Dilated pupils are a common sign observed with ecstasy intoxication. The use of ecstasy can increase the risk of a heart attack because the drug increases heart rate and blood pressure. Damage to areas of the brain that are critical to thought, memory, pleasure and other cognitive processes can result from chronic use of ecstasy.

The composition of ecstasy may include caffeine, dextromethorphan, heroin or mescaline – a drug known to cause brain damage. P-methoxyamphetamine (PMP) and p-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) have been used as substitute for ecstasy because of their similarity to the drug. Users using these derivatives or in combination with ecstasy can die from overdose.

GHB (Liquid X, Liquid Ecstasy, Max) – GHB was developed in 1960 and was used in the 1970s for sleep disorders because it induces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. It was administered as an anesthetic agent in Europe, but was discontinued because it induced seizure like activity and did not function adequately as an analgesic. Abuse of GHB arose in the early 1990s with users pointing to the drug’s euphoric and sedative properties. Symptoms of GHB are dose related. A low dose of 10 mg/kg may result in vomiting, rapid onset of coma, and amnesia. A dose of 50 mg/kg can induce respiratory depression, bradycardia, chronic muscle contractions, anesthesia, and decreased cardiac output. When used in conjunction with methamphetamine and ecstasy, the abuse of GHB can increase the risk of seizure. Taking with other drugs, such as alcohol, it can result in nausea and difficulty in breathing. Abuse of GHB may also produce withdrawal effects, including insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and sweating.

GHB has been involved in poisonings, overdoes, date rapes, and deaths. In the nightclub and rave environments, GHB is commonly mixed with alcohol, which may cause unconsciousness. As a result, it can be use as a date rape drug.

Flunitrazepam (Roofies, Roche, Forget Me Not) – Rohypnol, a trade name for flunitrazepam, is also known as “roofies”. It is not approved for use in the U.S, and its importation is banned. However, illicit use of Rohypnol has occurred in the United States since early 1990’s.

Rohypnol can be use as a date rape drug because when mixed with alcohol, it can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. The drug is often referred to as the “forget-me-not” pill because individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drugs. Rohypnol is potentially lethal when mixed with alcohol and/or other depressants.

Ketamine (Cat Valium, Purple, Jet K, Keller, Super C) – Popularly known as “cat valium”, Ketamine is a date rape drug. Users experience a separation of perception from sensation. Low doses can cause dream-like states characterized by “floating” or “out-of-body” experience. Higher doses can cause “near-death” or “k-hole” experiences. Other symptoms include dissociative anesthesia, delirium, amnesia, hallucinations, seizures, impaired motor functions, high blood pressure, respiratory depressions, depression, arrhythmia, and cardiac arrest. Ketamine is structurally and chemically related to PCP, but only reacts with PCP immunoassay in high doses.

Methamphetamine (Ice, Rush, Speed, Water, L.A. Glass) - Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, and bitter tasting crystalline powder available in many forms that can be smoked, snorted, injected, or taken orally. Commonly known as ice, methamphetamine produces a pleasurable experience called a “rush” when smoked or injected by the user. It is a highly toxic and addictive stimulant that affects many areas of the central nervous system. Methamphetamine abusers typically display signs of agitation, excited speech, decreased appetite, and increased physical activity. It can cause cardiac damage and neurological complications. Many of the problems caused by the abuse of methamphetamine are similar to those found with the use of drugs such as amphetamine and cocaine.

LSD (Microdot, Sugar, Russian Sickles, Acid, Royal Blues) - LSD is a potent hallucinogen that induces abnormalities in sensory perceptions. It can be purchased as a tiny tablet or capsule, sometimes called a microdot. Typically taken by mouth, LSD can also be soaked into pieces of blotter paper (“blotters”) or gelatin squares (“window panes”). The effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on several factors including the amount ingested, the user’s mindset, personality, mood, expectations, and the environment in which the drug is used. LSD appears to alter thought and perception by its actions on the serotonergic neurons. Sympathomimetic effects are common and usually precede the hallucinogenic effects. Physical effects include dilated pupils, elevated body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Users may report numbness, weakness, trembling, and/or nausea. Two long term disorders associated with LSD includes persistent psychosis and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder, known as “flashbacks.” Reports of deaths associated with LSD overdose have been reported.