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What are Club Drugs?
So-called “club” drugs are psychoactive drugs predominantly abused by adolescents and young adults at concerts, nightclubs and “raves”. Popular in metropolitan areas, raves are crowded events held in abandoned buildings, open fields or larger clubs where people engage in high energy dancing and intimate socializing. Although raves are promoted as being alcohol-free and safe because security personnel are often hired to prevent disruptions, raves are anything but safe because they promote unlimited amounts of club drugs, sexual promiscuity and the high potential for overdosing on these club drugs.
Popular Types of Club Drugs
Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine)
The most popular club drug is Ecstasy, an hallucinogenic, amphetamine-based drug with street names like MDMA, Molly, Adam, X and XTC. By increasing levels of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain, Ecstasy produces a variety of intense, hallucinatory sensations and feelings that include:
- Euphoria (users say they feel an overwhelming sense of “oneness” with everyone when high on Ecstasy that usually leads to having sex with multiple partners in one night)
- Enhanced empathy and sociability
- Visual and auditory hallucinations
- Clenching and grinding of teeth
- Profuse sweating caused by increased body temperature
- Restlessness, agitation and impulsivity
Ecstasy users report feeling the effects of MDMA within 45 minutes of taking the drug and “peaking” in less than two hours. For most users, the drug’s psychoactive qualities diminish after four or five hours, leaving them feeling tired, burned-out and depressed.
Gamma-hydoxybutyrate (GHB)
GHB is a depressant that significantly reduces heart rate, slows respiration and induces intense euphoria that can last up to four or five hours, depending on how much GHB the user ingests. GHB is frequently combined with alcohol, which increases the potential for overdose, coma and even death. GHB may be prescribed by medical doctors to treat clinical depression, insomnia and narcolepsy or used as a general anesthetic before surgery. Street names for GHB include “Liquid E”, “Juice”, “G” and “Liquid X”.
Ketamine
Referred to on the street as “K”, “Special K” and “Vitamin K”, ketamine is an injectable anesthetic primarily meant to put small animals to sleep prior to surgery. Users can purchase illegal ketamine in its original liquid form or as a fine white powder that is snorted or mixed with marijuana and smoked.
Ketamine is also used on humans for sedation or pain relief purposes as well as for eliminating bronchospasms and sometimes depression when antidepressants fail to work. Side effects of ketamine include:
- Hallucinations similar to those produced by PCP, a dangerous drug causing powerful delusions, agitation and paranoid thinking.
- Severe cognitive impairment
- Elevated blood pressure bordering on stroke level
- Muscle tremors/spasms
In addition, chronic ketamine users who abstained from taking the drug for several days may experience flashbacks that are hallucinatory and disturbing.
Rohypnol (flunitrazepam)
Although legally available and produced outside the U.S., Rohypnol is not approved for sale or use in the the U.S. Originally used by methamphetamine and cocaine addicts to relieve anxiety and depression, “roofies” are now abused by the rave crowd because of its strong, depressant effects on the central nervous system.
Rohypnol is also known as the “date rape” drug because of its tasteless and odorless properties. Perpetrators can sprinkle Rohypnol powder in other people’s drinks or food and avoid detection. By producing extreme drowsiness and confusion combined with memory impairment (anterograde amnesia) and loss of muscle control, Rohypnol puts those under its influence in a highly vulnerable position for suffering sexual assault or other personal violence.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
“Acid” use surged in popularity during the 60s but then declined until it returned again in the 1990s following the creation and ensuing popularity of raves. A hallucinatory drug that distorts all sensory perceptions, LSD has no medicinal value and is illegal to make or sell in the U.S. Effects of taking LSD tablets, capsules or “blotter” (small squares of paper that have been saturated with liquid LSD include:
- Increased body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure
- Nausea, weakness, sweating and extreme dry mouth
- Auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations that can be pleasant or terrifying, sometimes leading the user to suffer serious physical trauma (jumping off buildings or driving recklessly, for example)
Research into the long-term effects of LSD use indicates the potential for experiencing repeated psychotic episodes and hallucinogenic “flashbacks” that mimic an actual LSD “trip”.
How Addictive are Club Drugs?
Due to the way club drugs have been advertised by ravers as harmless and non-addicting when compared to heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine (which is sometimes categorized as a club drug), the knowledge that club drugs are as addictive as heroin and meth is not nearly as widespread as it should be. Club drugs target the same brain receptors affected by other addictive drugs. These receptors regulate neurotransmitters that influence mood, cognition and sensory perception. Club drugs also disturb normal functioning of the brain’s reward system, which encourages development of tolerance and ultimately, addiction.
Rehab for Club Drugs Abuse
A club drugs addiction requires professional intervention and treatment similar to protocols used to treat an alcohol or street drug addiction. Detoxification may be necessary if the patient is a long-time abuser of club drugs, combined with round-the-clock monitoring by medical doctors and psychiatrists. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and potentially dangerous to the health of a club drug addict, specifically impacting the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous system.
In addition to providing detoxifying patients with sedatives and applicable medications to relieve anxiety, agitation and flu-like symptoms, a club drugs rehab center will also offer psychotherapy to help club drug abusers cope with ongoing psychological issues that may be causing them to escape into club drugs and the “rave” scene.
Although no specific treatment methods exist to address an addiction to club drugs, research indicates that patients seem to benefit from motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy. Both therapies are designed to modify the way patient’s think about the world, themselves and why they feel the way they do. In addition, counselors working at a rehab for club drugs abuse will also provide psychoeducation involving coping skills, relaxation techniques to help avoid relapse and information about where to find support groups.
Getting Help for a Club Drugs Addiction
If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to Ecstasy, GHB, ketamine, Rohypnol or LSD, find a club drugs rehab center near you today by searching our extensive directory containing hundreds of addiction recovery centers. In addition, you may be able to utilize insurance to take care of most, if not all, treatment cost. To find out more about possible help with costs, visit https://rehabreviews.com/benefits-check/.
[Source: Drugabuse.gov, FBI.gov, Drugabuse.gov, Justice.gov]