What
are club drugs?
The term “club drugs” has been used
in the past to refer to drugs primarily used by
young adults at dance clubs and raves. Club drugs
are still rampant in these settings, but are also
appearing in other social settings within our
communities, such as in bars, on college campuses,
and at high school parties or gatherings. Club
drugs often appear at events for young adults
that are advertised as “non-alcoholic functions”
in which parents assume the attendees will be
supervised and safe. Club drugs include, but are
not limited to, MDMA (Ecstasy), LSD, methamphetamine,
GHB, ketamine, and Rohypnol. Other drugs such
as marijuana and alcohol are also popular at clubs
or raves. Poly-drug use is also prominent: the
effects of combining different substances often
are unpredictable and dangerous.
What is a rave?
Raves are all night dance parties that originated
in Europe in the mid 1980s. After gaining popularity
among teens and young adults in the 1990's, organizers
of raves (or 'free parties' as they are labeled
by some promoters today) continue to put them
on and they have become more sophisticated. Raves
are attended mostly by teens, some who dress in
baggy clothes and costumes and wear colorful candy
or plastic necklaces as was common when the rave
culture began. Today, most rave-goers dress casually
and raves attract a wide audience. Raves are usually
held, frequently on short notice, in locations
such as empty warehouses, fields, and dance clubs.
Raves, attended in small or massive numbers, typically
begin at dusk and end at dawn.
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