Club Drugs

Many of the teenagers and young adults who comprise the majority of the club, rave, and trance scene employ a variety of illicit substances to fuel their all-night party efforts. Among the most common drugs of abuse by this population are MDMA (Ecstasy), Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine.

Though drug use is not a universal behavior among those who attend these night-long dances, the low cost, stamina-boosting intoxication offered by these substances has made them popular at the events. However, science has revealed that the drugs pose a variety of risk, including brain damage, muscle deterioration, kidney and cardiovascular failure, and malignant hypothermia (a sudden, dangerous spike in body temperature).

The following is a more in-depth look at the prevalence, properties, and dangers of these popular drugs.

MDMA (Ecstasy)

A synthetic psychoactive drug that produces both stimulant-like and hallucinogenic effects, MDMA (also know as Ecstasy, Adam, XTC, and the love drug) is being used with increasing prevalence in metropolitan areas throughout the United States. The drug is most commonly swallowed as a pill, though some users have been know to snort, inject, or insert the drug in suppository form.

Psychological effects include depression, confusion, anxiety, paranoia, and insomnia. Physically, the drug may cause nausea, blurred vision, lightheadedness, chills, and increased heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Researchers have also associated repeated use of MDMA with long-term damage to areas of the brain that are involved with memory, higher-level thinking, and pleasure.

MDMA was first synthesized in the early 1900s, though it does not appear to have been employed as a recreational drug until the 1970s. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), MDMA use increased most dramatically during the 1990s (with MDMA-related visits to the emergency room rising from 250 in 1994 to more than 2,800 five years later).

Rape Drugs

Central nervous system depressants with no color, taste, or odor, Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine emerged as rape drugs in the waning years of the previous century. Because they can be surreptitiously added to a person’s food or drink, the drugs were used by rapists and other criminals to disable their victims without their (the victims’) realizing they had been drugged.

In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Congress passed the “Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act” to increase federal penalties for the use of any substances to assist in the commission of a sexual assault.

GHB

Once widely available for legal purchase as an aid in fat reduction and muscle enhancement, GHB began to be widely abused for recreational (and nefarious) purposes around 1990. The drug (which has been referred to as “liquid ecstasy”) looks and tastes similar to water – but abuse can lead to coma, seizure, nausea, and breathing difficulties. These potentially devastating effects can be exacerbated when the drug is used in combination with alcohol, methamphetamine, and other drugs. Depending upon the nature and severity of a person’s involvement with GHB, withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, anxiety, and insomnia can result in the absence of the substance.

When mixed with alcohol (as is often the case when GHB is used to debilitate a potential rape victim), the drug can produce rapid albeit short-lasting unconsciousness. Though the drug is widely recognized for its use in illegal activities, it can be difficult to detect via toxicology screens that are administered as routine hospital intake procedures.

Between 1994 and 1999, GHB mentions in U.S. emergency room reports increased from 55 to almost 3,000. Though the rate of increase has leveled off considerably since then, the drug remains a considerable risk to those who take it either intentionally or unknowingly.

Rohypnol

“Roofie” is perhaps the most commonly use – and widely known – date rape drug. Though the drug (generic term: flunitrazepam) is illegal in the United States, it is available for purchase as a pre-anesthetic and temporary insomnia cure in Central America, South America, and Europe. It may be obtained through rogue online pharmacies, or from dealers who smuggle in into the country.

In addition to its debilitating effects, Rohypnol also leads to a condition known as “anterograde amnesia,” which means that a person who has been given the drug may not be able to remember events that occurred while they were under the influence of the drug. As with the other date rape drugs, mixing Rohypnol with alcohol (as is often the case) can have deadly consequences.

Ketamine

Unlike Rohypnol, Ketamine remains a legal drug in the United States (primarily for use as a veterinary anesthetic). As with Rohypnol, though, Ketamine is often abused for both recreational and criminal purposes.

Usually injected or snorted, Ketamine (also know as “Special K” and “Vitamin K”) can produce hallucinations, and can put users in a dream-like state in which it is difficult to discern between reality and drug-induced fantasy. This can be a desirable (albeit dangerous) effect for those who choose to take the drug to “enhance” their rave experience – for those who have been given Ketamine without their consent, though, the effect can be devastating.