Club Drugs: Little Pills, Big Dangers. (Unit 4: Street Drugs).(the dangers of using club drugs)

Recreational" drugs. "Designer" drugs. "Club" drugs. The words used to describe them make these drugs sound like they're nothing but fun. Unfortunately, they are just as often connected with words like these: permanent brain damage, date rape, chronic depression.

The drugs that have received a lot of publicity include Ecstasy, ketamine, Rohypnol, and GHB. They are called club drugs because they are popular at all-night dance parties called "raves" or trances. They are called designer drugs because many were invented by amateur chemists who tinkered with the formula of an old drug and came up with something new.

A closer look at two of these drugs, Ecstasy and Rohypnol, shows why club drugs are dangerous.

Ecstasy (MDMA, XTC, e, Adam)

Ecstasy is chemically similar to metharnphetamine, a stimulant also known as speed or crank Ecstasy also acts like a hallucinogen. Hallucinogens are "mindaltering" drugs that distort the user's perception of reality. As a stimulant, Ecstasy gives its users the energy to dance all night. That's why it became a popular part of "rave culture" in the 1990s, even though it was outlawed in the early 1980s after it was involved in a series of deaths.

Ecstasy usually takes effect within 30 minutes and lasts for six to 12 hours. Because Ecstasy is a stimulant, it speeds up body functions such as heart rate and breathing, and raises body temperature. When that happens in a hot, crowded nightclub, it can cause dehydration, dangerously high blood pressure, and even heart failure. Several dozen Ecstasy users died when their body temperatures reached as high as 110 degrees.

The drug also can cause nausea, blurred vision, chills and sweats, and muscle tension. One very noticeable side effect is involuntary clenching of the teeth. Sucking on a pacifier relieves muscle tension in the jaw, which is why carrying oversized pacifiers is a part of rave culture.