CLUB DRUGS

WHAT WE KNOW

Club drugs can negatively affect your brain.

• Studies have proven that regular use of “Ecstasy” (MDMA) produces long-lasting, perhaps permanent, damage to the brain’s ability to think and to store memories.
• Club drugs like GHB and Rohypnol are commonly used in “date rape” and other assaults because they are sedatives that can make you unconscious and immobilized, meaning you can’t move. Rohypnol can cause a type of amnesia, which means that you may not remember what you said or did while under its effects, making it easier for others to take advantage of you.

Club drugs can negatively affect your body.

• Although different drugs can cause different reactions, some common effects include loss of muscle and/or motor control, blurred vision, and seizures.
• Ecstasy and other similar drugs are stimulants that increase heart rate and blood pressure and can lead to heart or kidney failure.
• GHB and other similar drugs are depressants that can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, or breathing problems.
• High doses of club drugs can cause severe breathing problems, coma, or even death.

Most club drugs are odorless and tasteless. Some are in powder form, making it easier to slip into a drink and dissolve without a person’s knowledge. That’s why some of these drugs are called “date rape drugs,” because they are being used in sexual assaults. Here's how to protect yourself.

• Don’t accept a drink (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) from someone you don’t know or don’t trust.
• At parties, do not accept a drink that is open or from an open container.
  Never leave your drink unattended.
• Don’t take any drinks from punch bowls, pitchers, or tubs.
• If you or your friends hear discussions about “date rape” drugs or if you or your friends seem “too intoxicated” for what has been taken, you should all leave the party immediately and don’t go back!

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