What Happens When The Dance Party Is Over?

The use of club drugs began in the 1980's at dance parties in Great Britain and spread to the United States with the rave scene in the 1990's. One famous outcome of this scene was "date rape" drugs. Most young (or young at heart) adults that are into the club scene are familiar with substances commonly referred to as "club drugs". These include drugs like MDMA, Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine which are generally attractive to club goers for their low cost and the intoxicating high that can intensify the clubbing experience. Street names for club drugs include XTC, X (MDMA), Special K, Vitamin K (Ketamine), soap (GHB), and roofies (Rohypnol).

Most of these drugs affect the central nervous system having a depressive effect, and a couple of them (GHB and Rohypnol) have become famous in movies like The Hangover or as date rape drugs. GHB in combination with other drugs can cause nausea, breathing difficulties, and even comas (not to mention overdoses and death).

Although originally created as an anesthetic for both human and animal use, about 90% of Ketamine (AKA "special K" or "vitamin K") currently produced and sold legally in the United States is intended for veterinary use. In higher doses, users can experience delirium, amnesia, impaired motor function, high blood pressure, depression, and potentially fatal respiratory issues. It can be injected or snorted and can cause dream-like states and hallucinations.

Although not approved for any legal uses in the US, Rohypnol (roofies) began showing up in the 1990's for illegal purposes. It is in the group of drugs known as benzodiazepenes and when mixed with alcohol it can cause people to develop antograde amnesia where they don't remember events (like a rape) that occured while they were under its influence. Being colorless, odorless, and tasteless it is easily mixed into someone's drink without their knowledge incapacitating them and preventing them from resisting a *** assault. As a result it has been broadly used as a "date rape drug."

Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a synthetic, psychoactive drug very similar chemically to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. Street names for MDMA include XTC and the "hug drug." Because MDMA can interfere with the body's ability to metabolise it, or break it down, potentially toxic levels of the drug can quickly be reached by repeated short interval usage. This can result in extremely elevated body temperature causing liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure leading to death.

The euphoric effects of these chemicals is undeniable, but the jury is still out on the proper treatment related to their usage. Unlike other substances of addiction that are used in isolation, a person using club drugs is most often doing so in a social setting with many others using the same drugs. Being part of that group gives the user a sense of belonging that they don't feel anywhere else in their life. Until the damaging effects of their drug usage reaches a point that outweighs the perceived social benefits, the person may not feel a need to give up their lifestyle.