NCJ Number
201819
Date Published
2003
Length
68 pages
Annotation
This issue of "NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Notes" presents articles from previous issues (November/December 1996, through October 2002) that report on NIDA-sponsored research pertinent to club drugs.
Abstract
The drugs discussed in the reprinted articles are referred to as "club drugs" because they are commonly used in the context of all-night party and "rave" dance clubs and bars. The drugs reported in these scenes are diverse and vary among locales. The drugs mentioned in the articles presented are ecstasy (MDMA), methamphetamine, LSD, PCP, GHB, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and ketamine. Articles on ecstasy pertain to impairment of memory and cognition through prenatal exposure; new teaching aids; using science to counter the spread of ecstasy abuse; consequences of ecstasy abuse; teen use; effects of brain damage and impaired memory; and challenges to prevention. Articles on methamphetamine pertain to its effects (impaired cognitive and motor skills); approaches to reversing methamphetamine's neurotoxic effects; the targeting of methamphetamine abuse; methamphetamine abuse epidemic in Iowa; expanded research; comparison of methamphetamine and cocaine; and the response to escalating methamphetamine abuse. A number of articles address the abuse of club drugs in general, and one article presents information on LSD, PCP, and related drugs. Conference highlights on increasing GHB abuse are presented in another article, and an article advises that research has found that ketamine, PCP, and alcohol trigger widespread cell death in the brains of developing rats.