Drug use by American teenagers has increased dramatically over the past decade. Parties known as raves are common among club dwellers and have birthed a new wave of drugs that have been claiming the life of partiers. These drugs are known as club drugs, they include Ketamine, Rohypnol and GHB. .
Ketamine, known to ravers as Special K is a tranquilizer originally designed for veterinary as an anesthetic for small animals going into surgery. (Chamberlain, 2002). Ketamine flourishes in big city areas, though its use has also been reported in many small communities. The drug comes as white powder, often mistaken for cocaine and is most often sniffed through the nose, but is also injected intramuscularly and intravenously. Effects of Ketamine can begin five to ten minutes after taking the drug. It produces dissociative effects that users describe as a separation between mind and body. Ketamine has been documented as inducing near death experiences. Effects of the drug produce seemingly positive effects on the user's conscious thought. However, short-term use of the drug causes a five-fold effect on dopamine levels in the brain, and has also been categorized as a SSRI, which releases excess amounts of seratonin onto neurotransmitters. Long term use of this drug can burn out the receptors in your brain responsible for distributing serotonin to your brain. Coma and death are also possible short and long-term effects. .
Another drug commonly found on the club scene is Rohypnol. Rohypnol is commonly known as the date rape drug, but is also known as roofies. Chemically, it is in the same family as Valium, however the effects are predicted to be up to ten times more potent. Rohypnol is prescribed in Europe and Latin America for short-term treatment of insomnia (Women's Health). The drug comes in the form of a white tablet, with the letters "ROCHE- on one side. Teens are attracted to this drug because of the dramatic high is creates, and the relatively low price, at less than five dollars per tablet.
