All night dance parties have been around for generations; witness the marathon dancing of the Depression years. Today, all night dance parties are known as ‘raves’ or ‘trances’. It is not uncommon in some of these dance parties or bars known as clubs, for drugs to be used to allegedly enhance the experience. These drugs, for lack of imagination on the users part, are known as “Club Drugs’. Ecstasy, GHB, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, or LSD are some of the drugs used at these parties. When used in combination with alcohol, all of them can be deadly. Two drugs, in particular, will be reviewed in this article which are ‘outlawed’ in all 50 States, and are commonly referred to as ‘date-rape’ drugs.
No club drug is benign.
Rohypnol and GHB are predominantly central nervous system depressants. Because they are often colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added to beverages and ingested unknowingly.
These substances emerged a few years ago as "drug-assisted assault" drugs, or date-rape drugs. Because of concern about their abuse, Congress passed the "Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act of 1996" in October 1996. This legislation increased Federal penalties for use of any controlled substance to aid in sexual assault.
Rohypnol
Rohypnol, a trade name for flunitrazepam, belongs to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault. It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug. Also, Rohypnol may be lethal when mixed with alcohol and/or other depressants.
Rohypnol is not approved for use in the United States, and its importation is banned. Illicit abuse of Rohypnol started appearing in the United States in the early 1990s, where it became known as "rophies," "roofies," "roach," and "rope."
Abuse of two other similar drugs appears to have replaced Rohypnol abuse in some regions of the country. These are clonazepam, marketed in the U.S. as Klonopin and in Mexico as Rivotril, and alprazolam, marketed as Xanax.
GHB
Since about 1990, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) has been abused in the U.S. for its euphoric, sedative, and anabolic (body building) effects. It is a central nervous system depressant that was widely available over-the-counter in health food stores during the 1980s and until 1992. It was purchased largely by body builders to aid in fat reduction and muscle building. Street names include "liquid ecstasy," "soap," "easy lay," "vita-G," and "Georgia home boy."
Coma and seizures can occur following abuse of GHB. Combining abuse of GHB with other drugs such as alcohol can result in nausea and breathing difficulties. GHB may also produce withdrawal effects, including insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and sweating. GHB and two of its precursors, gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4 butanediol (BD), have been involved in poisonings, overdoses, date rapes, and deaths.
People taking GHB, resulted in 990 Emergency room visits; this result is second only to ecstasy, which indicates how dangerous it is to the user. The majority of users were boys, who were teenagers.
Danger Now Lurks in Toys
Given all of our knowledge of the dangers of these illegal drugs, the nation was shocked when millions of toys were recalled due to being coated with GHB. The toy was called Aqua Dots and was imported from China. Until several children fell deathly ill, no one suspected the toxicity of this toy. These children were lucky, as GHB is known to cause unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
Australia’s children also succumbed to the toxicity of GHB and Aqua Dots. Aqua Dots had been named ‘toy of the year’; but quickly was pulled off shelves when news hit the market about the poisonous infiltration. It is hard to imagine that the toys would have been coated with GHB, as it was a less costly alternative to the more appropriate coating. In the end, we do not know who, when, how, or where these toys were coated with GHB. As of now, there is an on-going investigation into the province in China where these toys are produced. Hopefully, we can derive social solutions for all parties involved to stop the importation of dangerous products into our heartland.
Sources
Harris, P.: CPSC orders Aqua Dots off store shelves; Associated Press, November 9, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071109/ap_on_re_us/toys_date_rape_drug;_ylt=AkxpC27CvegkdbUSlbpGejBI2ocA
National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007
http://www.drugabuse.gov/infofacts/RohypnolGHB.html
National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2007
http://www.clubdrugs.org/
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