If you are having any symptoms or have any questions, please call 811 to speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day.

OVERVIEW

What are “club drugs”?

Club drugs are a group of drugs commonly found at parties, bars, nightclubs, and concerts. Most forms of the drugs are illegal and can cause serious illness, injury, or even death. This can occur from one-time use, repeated use, or use with other substances, such as alcohol.

The main club drugs are:

• flunitrazepam (roofies)
• GHB (liquid ecstasy)
• ketamine (special K)
• LSD (acid)
• MDMA (ecstasy or molly)
• methamphetamine (meth)

Club drugs contain a combination of agents that affect your brain and central nervous system. All of them can lead you to make choices or do things you wouldn’t otherwise do.

• Stimulants make you excitable. They can cause you to feel open, aroused, and unafraid.
• Depressants slow your nervous system and affect your ability to react.
• Hallucinogens affect your ability to think, feel, judge, and act. They make it hard to know what’s real or not. They can cause you to forget periods of time.
• Methamphetamines are stimulants that cause excitement. They can make you hyper, anxious, or paranoid.

Path to safety

Some people choose to use club drugs. Although most club drugs look like prescription medicines, they’re not safe. Club drugs that contain meth are very addictive. These drugs may be mixed or cut to include meth. These include GHB, ketamine, and flunitrazepam. They can cause severe, long-lasting symptoms and medical problems with repeated use.

You should take great caution not to consume club drugs. Most of them have no color, smell, or taste. They can easily be slipped into drinks and food. Some types, including GHB and flunitrazepam, often are used as date-rape drugs. A small amount can cause a person to blackout or become unconscious.

Teenagers and young adults are more often victims of date rape. Talk with your children about the dangers of club drugs. They can help prevent someone giving them drugs by doing the following:

• Don’t accept drinks, food, or substances from other people. This includes strangers and people they don’t know very well.
• Don’t drink or eat anything they didn’t open themselves.
• Keep drinks with them and in their sight at all times.
• Watch their friends’ drinks.

Everyone reacts differently to club drugs. Symptoms vary depending on the person, the drug, and the dose of the drug. Side effects often appear 10 to 20 minutes after use. They can include:

• drowsiness
• dizziness
• blurred vision
• nausea
• vomiting
• loss of muscle control
• changes in heart rate and blood pressure
• trouble breathing
• aggressive behavior
• impaired memory and judgment
• hallucinations
• loss of consciousness
• seizures
• coma
• death

It’s important to know when someone has taken drugs, either on purpose or accident. Look for any of the side effects listed above. Club drugs also can cause people to overheat. If a friend looks too hot or feels weak or sick, get them to a cool, quiet place as soon as you can. If the person is thirsty, give them a sports drink instead of water. If they vomit, lose consciousness, or have seizures, get medical help right away.

Alert a manager, security person, or law official if you suspect someone is trying to give you or a friend a club drug.

Things to consider

Club drugs can go by a lot of alternative or secret names. If it sounds bad or made up, it probably is. Some drugs are legal for certain health problems. However, you should never take any drugs that are not part of a prescription.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction website:
http://www.ccsa.ca

Provincial websites:
NS: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/addictions/
PEI: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/health-pei/provincial-addictions-treatment-facility