What are Club Drugs?
Club drugs
(also sometimes called Dance Drugs or Designer Drugs) are drugs
which at one time were found most frequently in night clubs and
at raves, but have since become some of the fastest growing drugs
used by college students. These drugs include MDMA (Ecstasy, E,
or X), ketamine
(special K), GHB,
and crystal methamphetamine(speed, crank, crystal, tina).
What is Ecstasy?
Ecstasy
is the name for MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine). MDMA (and
its close relation MDA) are classified as enactogens, drugs that
have stimulant, hallucinogenic and mood-improving qualities. It
was originally developed as a diet aid. Before it was made illegal
in 1985, it was used experimentally by mental health professionals
in controlled settings to help people in couple's counseling. It
began to be used illicitly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though
Ecstasy use remains rare, its use among teenagers almost doubled
between 1998 and 2001 and it is the only drug which has shown a
marked increase in consumption in the college population with a
69% increase between 1997 and 1999.
How is Ecstasy used?
Ecstasy
is almost always swallowed in
60 to 120 mg
pills. It is very infrequently
snorted or taken in a liquid form through injection. The strength
and contents of Ecstasy tablets cannot be known accurately. Sometimes
these pills are stamped with symbols (like clover leafs, horseshoes,
or smiley faces) as underground brand names or identifying markers.
However, these symbols do not mean that a pill is pure or safe.
All Ecstasy available on the street is produced in unregulated black
market laboratories.
Why do people take Ecstasy?
Ecstasy
produces a euphoric high that lasts from 3 to 4 hours by generating
a rush of serotonin and a smaller amount of dopamine, the brain
messenger molecules that help to regulate mood. Serotonin is the
brain chemical that many antidepressants regulate. Users describe
Ecstasy as making them empathic, producing a temporary state of
openness. Depending on its contents, Ecstasy can also cause mild
hallucinogenic effects. Users report that the rush of serotonin
is pleasurable and produces both an emotionally relaxed and physically
exhilarated state. However, this extremely fast deployment of serotonin
can deplete normal serotonin levels and produce depression or malaise
after the drug wears off.
Are there short-term dangers of taking
Ecstasy?
Pills
sold as Ecstasy may not be Ecstasy at all. MDMA purchased on the
street is frequently laced with other drugs like cocaine, heroine,
PCP, or toxic chemicals like PMA and DXM, atropine, and rat poison.
In a 1996 study of Ecstasy content, 19 out of 33 pills (58%) were
found to contain less than 25% MDMA. Only 5 pills (15%) were more
than 75% MDMA.
Second,
users report a number of side effects, including:
Heatstroke
(also known as hyperthermia)
Nausea
Muscle
tension
Blurred
vision
Faintness
Chills
Sweating
Teeth
clenching
Day-after
depression
Ecstasy
raises your body temperature and heart rate. Combine this with hot
conditions, the physical activity of dancing in a party or club,
and not drinking water, and the greatest immediate danger of MDMA
is heatstroke. Heatstroke (or hyperthermia) is the primary cause
of death from Ecstasy. Someone taking Ecstasy should make sure to
drink about a pint of water every hour while on Ecstasy, sipping,
rather than drinking it all at once. Also, taking breaks from dancing
on a hot dance floor to cool off is an important way to reduce the
risk of heatstroke. Ecstasy-related deaths are relatively rare (there
were 27 nationwide from 1994 to 1999). However, emergency room hospital
visits are on the rise.
Ecstasy causes the release of norepinephrine, which increases your heart rate dramatically and can be dangerous for people with cardiovascular disease or weakness.
Dehydration
can also lead to liver or kidney failure. Some people report bad
emotional reactions to Ecstasy including confusion, depression,
sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia, sometimes
lasting long after taking the drug. Using Ecstasy with alcohol and/or
other drugs can increase the risk of adverse effects. Alcohol is
dehydrating, too, and its depressant effects can mask the stimulant
properties of Ecstasy misleading the user about how intoxicated
they really are.
Finally,
some studies have shown that people who use Ecstasy are more likely
to engage in other risky behaviors such as binge drinking, cigarette
smoking, and having multiple sexual partners. The use of Ecstasy
and other club drugs can also lead to unsafe sex, the spread of
HIV
and sexually
transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancy.
Are there long-term consequences to taking
Ecstasy?
Although
further studies are needed, more and more research suggests that
Ecstasy causes serotonin levels to drop below normal, which impairs
the brain's ability to learn, retain information and regulate mood.
It appears that Ecstasy causes serotonin receptors, which allow
the serotonin to fire in the brain, to shrink from overuse. Some
evidence shows that restoration of serotonin receptors is possible
with continued abstinence from the drug, but that people who have
never taken Ecstasy have more functioning serotonin receptors than
those who have.
Other
studies suggest that regular or heavy Ecstasy use has long-term
negative effects on memory and brain function which go well beyond
the last pill taken (and seem to continue to increase in spite of
long-term abstinence from the drug). One study found that women
are particularly vulnerable to damage to the serotonin system by
MDMA.
Is Ecstasy addictive?
Heavy
users whose serotonin system is regularly depleted by the drug rely
on greater quantities of the drug to produce smaller and smaller
effects. Because your serotonin supply is finite, repeated dosing
cannot provide a stronger or lengthened high after all your serotonin
has been released.
A study of young adult and adolescent ecstasy users found that 43% were dependent, and 34% met the criteria for drug abuse. Almost 60% of users reported both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms.
Frequently, though, Ecstasy users also use
other drugs and alcohol and may be addicted to more than one drug
simultaneously.
DanceSafe
promotes health and safety within the rave and nightclub community.
The website has drug information, e-news archives, information on
testing kits and features like Your Brain on Ecstasy.
This British
harm-reduction web site provides extensive information on ecstasy,
including the basics, dangers, mixing with other drugs and links.
Provides
trends and statistics, research reports and health information on
club drugs.
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