Club drugs are being used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars. MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD are some of the club or party drugs gaining popularity. NIDA-supported research has shown that use of club drugs can cause serious health problems and, in some cases, even death. Used in combination with alcohol, these drugs can be even more dangerous.

No club drug is benign. Chronic abuse of MDMA, for example, appears to produce long-term damage to serotonin-containing neurons in the brain. Given the important role that the neurotransmitter serotonin plays in regulating emotion, memory, sleep, pain, and higher order cognitive processes, it is likely that MDMA use can cause a variety of behavioral and cognitive consequences as well as impair memory.

Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults.

Source: The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

Relevant Links

Club Drugs - Medline Plus - National Library of Medicine
Club Drugs - Office of National Drug Control Policy
Club Drugs - Parents. The Anti-Drug
Club Drugs.org - National Institute on Drug Abuse
Connecticut Prevention Network
Connecticut Recovery Initiative
In the Spotlight: Club Drugs - National Criminal Justice Reference Service
MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine
NarAnon
NarAnon - Connecticut
Narcotics Anonymous - Connecticut
Narcotics Anonymous - World Services
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Self-Help Clearinghouse
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (Parents. The Anti-Drug)
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Partners for Substance Abuse Prevention
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI)
SAMHSA's Regional Alcohol and Drug Awareness Resource (RADAR) Network
Self-Help Directory - A Guide to Connecticut and National Groups
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Substance Use Screening & Assessment Instruments Database (Alcohol And Drug Abuse Institute - University of Washington)