Club drugs

-Birdy

Also known as: Designer drugs, psychedelics

These less expensive, easily accessible, intoxicating drugs can often be attractive to persons wanting a momentary high or psychedelic experience, when they are at a rave, dance party, or bar with friends. This desire, combined with a belief that club drugs seem safe, leads people to trying club drugs and sometimes using them regularly. Club drugs are often first used in dance clubs or with friends. The belief that such drugs are natural forms of prescription drugs or are not necessarily always illegal fuels a misconception of their safety. Because the drugs are psychedelic, the reactions that individual users have can vary quite significantly depending on the user’s emotional state, concurrent use of other substances, underlying psychiatric conditions, personality, and past experience with the drug.

Additionally, as they are street drugs, usually subject to some variability in their contents (such as being mixed with less expensive drugs), their quality may vary substantially. Finally, the individual situations where the substances are used can pose a variety of dangers of varying levels.

Club drugs go by many different names. They include substances such as gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB, Georgia Home Boy, Liquid X), ketamine hydrochloride (ketamine, special K), lysergic acid diethylamid (LSD, acid, blotter), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Adam, ecstasy, X), and rohypnol (roofies, roach, roche). They also include herbal ecstasy (herbal X, cloud nine, herbal bliss), which is a drug made from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine and caffeine. These substances vary in their effects but as a group cause a variety of positive reactions, including euphoria, feelings of well-being, emotional clarity, a decreased sense of personal boundaries, and feelings of empathy and closeness to others. They also can cause, however, significant negative reactions, including panic, impaired judgment, amnesia, impaired motor control, insomnia, paranoia, irrational behavior, flashbacks, hallucinations, rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, chills, sweating, tremors, respiratory distress, convulsions, and violence. It is not uncommon for individuals to mix these drugs with alcohol, prescription drugs, and illegal drugs. Taken in combination, these substances can make these very dangerous reactions even worse.

Treatment and Therapy

The effects of club drugs vary somewhat by substance; as such, treatment also varies by substance. In general, though, club drugs may tend to be seen more in emergency care settings than in primary health care settings. This is due to the fact that some of the problems that they cause, as a group, are often of an emergency nature. For instance, overdose, strokes, allergic shock reactions, blackouts, loss of consciousness, and accidents related to these conditions may require emergency care. Similarly, dehydration and heat exhaustion can result from prolonged periods of dancing or other physical exertion, as can occur in rave situations, and result in a need for emergency care. Finally, because date rapes have been known to occur with these drugs, particularly rohypnol, injuries due to sexual assault also may need attention.

Certainly the long-term impact of problems like those described above may require some type of psychotherapy. In addition, problems related to the abuse of or dependence upon club drugs would be addressed in much the same manner as for other substances of abuse. General addiction treatment would be advised. A special area of treatment may also include exploration of what it is like to deal with blackouts, amnesia, and flashbacks, as these are features that are commonly reported with psychedelic drugs.

Perspective and Prospects

Club drugs emphasize that there is a continuing need for the social awareness of the dangers of substances that may otherwise seem harmless. Just because a substance is not listed as an illegal drug does not mean that it cannot be dangerous. Any drug, whether sold over the counter, by prescription, or any other place, can be misused and can be dangerous. Where drugs are used, how much is used, with whom they are used, and with what they are used can all make a difference.

Club drugs are also a reminder that in efforts to find ways of joining with each other, finding community, and discovering themselves and their relationships, people will sometimes resort to experimenting with substances. While the experimental use of psychedelic substances for psychotherapeutic work continues and may prove beneficial to certain groups of patients, such work is balanced by investigations into neurology, physiology, psychopharmacology, and psychology to ensure that the benefits do not outweigh the risks. Continued exploration of the neuronal, developmental, social, and other health effects of using club drugs is likely, as they pose a significant danger to public health, particularly that of younger populations.

Definitions

amnesia: a diverse condition where there is complete or partial loss of memory for specific periods of time, for specific types of information, or both

blackout: memory loss, usually as a result of taking substances known to disrupt memory, in which the affected person may function as if aware of what is happening, despite having no memory of activities

psychedelic drugs: substances that cause alterations in perception and thinking, such as changes in awareness or sense of self and hallucinations

raves: social gatherings that are distinguished by long periods of music, dancing, and often a percentage of individuals using psychedelic drugs and other substances of abuse

synergistic effects: the combined effects of drugs interacting with one another, such that the effects of the drugs together have a compounded effect, greater than that of any one alone

For Further Information

Holland, Julie. Ecstasy: The Complete Guide A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA. Rochester, Vt. : Inner Traditions International, 2001.

Jansen, Karl. Ketamine: Dreams and Realities. Ben Lomond, Calif.: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), 2004.

Kuhn, Cynthia, et al. Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. 2d ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003.

O’Neill, John, and Pat O’Neill. Concerned Intervention: When Your Loved One Won’t Quit Alcohol or Drugs. Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger, 1992.

Stafford, Peter. Psychedelics. Berkeley, Calif.: Ronin, 2003.

-Birdy