| | Club
Drugs
Rehab Center: Treatment for Abuse and Addiction
Club Drugs such as GHB, Rohypnol,
Ketamine, and Ecstasy are found at raves or night clubs.
GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate or gammahydroxybutyric acid) is increasingly
used as a recreational drug and hallucinogen. In the dance club/party
scene, GHB is often mixed with water and passed around and has
been associated with sexual assault.
GHB has been marketed in the past as a health food product for
its hypnotic effects and also to promote weight loss and muscle
development. Health food stores and pharmacies also have sold
GHB over the counter as a dietary supplement.
Adverse GHB effects: Nausea, Drowsiness, Respiratory distress,
Dizziness, Seizures, Amnesia, Coma, Poisonings and even death.
Rohypnol is the trade name for flunitrazepam, which is prescribed
as a sleeping pill. It can be mixed in a drink to incapacitate
a victim and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. Rohypnol
is not licensed for sale in the US and importation is banned.
Lethal overdose from Rohypnol is unlikely; however, Rohypnol
may be lethal when mixed with alcohol and/or other depressants.
Continued use can produce physical and psychological dependence.
Ketamine is a non-barbiturate, used in the medical community.
Ketamine may produce feelings from euphoria to paranoia to boredom.
There are hallucinogenic effects and perception is impaired,
intensifying colors and sounds. Ketamine may also relieve tension
and anxiety, and is alleged to be a sexual stimulant. Ketamine
is an anesthetic and prevents the user from feeling pain. Therefore,
a ketamine user is often not aware when something is wrong,
and the numbness may lead to increased use, sometimes to the
point of death.
A low dose produces psychedelic effects quickly.
Large doses can produce vomiting and convulsions and can starve
the brain
and muscles of oxygen. One gram can cause death.
Some of the effects produced by ketamine include: Numbness, Loss
of coordination, Sense of invulnerability, Muscle rigidity, Aggressive/violent
behavior, Slurred or blocked speech, Exaggerated sense of strength,
Blank stare, Increased heart rate, Depressed respiration, Disassociation.
The effect that a ketamine user is seeking, allows them to disassociate
themselves from their own consciousness, called k-hole. Ketamine
can leave the user comatose. Or the ketamine user may develop
a permanent neurosis with periodic episodes of complete consciousness
perforation, leading to insanity beyond psychological assistance.
Ketamine use
can lead to a vicious obsession. The Ketamine user can become
dependent physically and psychologically without even
realizing it. This cycle of obsession is the factor that leads
to ketamine use to the point of death.
Ecstasy is
commonly used by young people around high school or college age,
especially by those who go to night clubs and
all-night rave parties. Chronic ecstasy users are in danger
of losing interest to the point of dropping out of school,
losing a job, or getting in trouble with the law.
Ecstasy is a street name for the chemical MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
It is a stimulant that combines the properties of methamphetamine
(speed) with mind-altering or hallucinogenic properties. The
highly addictive nature of ecstasy is similar to that of cocaine
and amphetamines.
An ecstasy dose is normally swallowed, although some users may
choose to inject it.
Ecstasy users crave the pleasurable effects the drug brings:
upbeat mood, relaxed feelings, reduced anxiety, increased sensitivity
to others, enhanced mental or emotional clarity, sensations of
lightness and floating, and a high energy level.
Here are some effects of ecstasy that may accompany even the
first dose - and intensify with continued, heavier use: Confusion,
Sleep problems, Anxiety, Teeth clenching , Blurred vision, Acne-like
rash, Brain damage, Depression , Addiction, Paranoia, Nausea,
Chills and sweating , Liver damage, Aggression , Faintness ,
Muscle tension, Violent, irrational behavior, Convulsions , and
Tremor. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure from ecstasy
pose an increased risk for users with circulatory or heart disease.
Research also suggests that ecstasy users can develop learning
disorders and emotional problems due to disrupted brain activity.
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