ALL THE RAVE

A Look At The Drugs Of Choice For Partiers Of Today.

Marihuana, weed with roots in hell, proclaimed a 1930s anti-drug poster.
The propaganda tool also contained a collage of images including a man
sticking a hypodermic needle into the arm of a partially bare-breasted
woman, joints labeled with lust, crime, sorrow, hate, shame, and despair, a
hypodermic needle labeled with misery and what appeared to be prostitute
looking forlorn.

From the beginning, America's war on drugs has often used outrageous
propaganda in attempts to prevent drug use. But the exaggerations and
outright lies only cause many drug users to dismiss governmental warnings.

Consider the trendy club drugs ecstasy, Ketamine and GHB. Although there's
been a handful of deaths associated with the drugs in Florida, drug use
appears to be on the rise. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has
already seized three times as much ecstasy this year as it did all of 1998.

Today, there's hype on both sides of the drug issue. Some users tout
ecstasy, GHB, aphrodisiac. Meanwhile antidrug crusaders warn of death. So,
are they really that harmful or are the highly publicized overdoses extreme
cases?

Ecstasy, or MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is a synthetic drug
created by a German Pharmaceutical Company more than 50 years ago. It
evolved into a designer drug in the 1980s. Designer drugs are cooked up in
underground labs by chemists who alter the molecular structure of legal and
illegal drugs to create a high potency that is not explicitly banned by
federal law. Ecstasy became illegal following the suggestion of government
scientists that it caused permanent damage to nerve cells in the brain.

Ecstasy is an amphetamine derivative, which means it has a tendency to
speed people up. It usually comes in the form of a pill, sometimes
imprinted with the shape of a dove, a horse or other insignia. Users
commonly get a sense of euphoria and say it makes them 93loved up"; it
often heightens the senses, which is why those who are rolling (as the high
is called) commonly massage one another and become fixated as they watch
neon twirling light sticks. It frequently makes users grind their teeth,
which is why they sometimes suck on candy.

Why some people have overdosed on the same amount of ecstasy that others
have found pleasurable is unclear, physicians say. University researchers
around the world are studying the drug. But the Columbia University Health
Education program says that data indicate the most serious problems have
usually occurred because users combined ecstasy with other drugs. Mixing
ecstasy and alcohol isn't smart. Combining the two can produce
unpredictable effects, including dangerous changes in heart rate and blood
pressure.

Mixing ecstasy and alcohol also promotes dehydration, which is already a
problem with ecstasy users. Since the drug is commonly used by club and
partygoers intent on dancing the night away, X users often forget to drink
enough water. In some cases this has led to extreme dehydration causing
severe muscle meltdown, kidney failure and even death. There also have been
cases of hyperthermia because the users don't drink enough water and are
unable to sweat, which causes the body to overheat. But by the some token,
drinking too much water can lower an ecstasy user's sodium level and cause
hyponatremia, which causes the brain to swell. Physicians advise sipping,
not gulping water once or twice an hour while on the dance floor to
minimize the risk.

There's also the problem that because it is an illicit drug, it's not
regulated. Users don't really know what they are taking. Most ecstasy being
sold on the streets contains some speed (methamphetamine) as well as MDMA.
Eternity Magazine reported in 1995 that when tested, only one out of four
tablets sold as ecstasy contained MDMA.

There's a Web site, www.bluelight.net/mdma, dedicated to informing ecstasy
users about bad drugs. Users from around the world post messages about
their experiences with specific forms of ecstasy, along with prices. For
example, one Tampa user wrote on October 19 that he or she bought a pill
called Twin Turbos for $20 and described it as an awesome pill, took about
30 minutes to blow up, 3-4 hours of rolling, jaw clenching, loved up.

Of course, while most of the focus has been on the short-term effects of
MDMA, the fun and the deaths, there are still a lot of unknowns about the
long-term effects. But the studies out there show the negative effects,
while not life-threatening, may affect a greater number of users. This year
a John Hopkins University study showed that four days' use of Ecstasy
caused brain damage that lasted at least six to seven years. It validated
previous John Hopkins research showing that Ecstasy users scored lower on
memory tests.

GHB, a.k.a. Grievous bodily harm, was developed in 1960 by French physician
Henri Laborit. It's not a designer drug. It was created as a surgical
anesthetic but became popular as a muscle-building product. Although it's
been taken off the market in the United States, you can buy it on the
Internet or get the recipe to make your own. Tampa Police narcotics
director Capt. Ken Dodge says all you need to make GHB is a kitchen and a
trip to paint and photography stores for chemicals. The standard way GHB is
consumed is by mixing a cap of it with drinking water. While officials say
GHB has no taste or smell, users say it does have flavor.

At best, GHB relaxes users. The problems occur when it relaxes users too
much. It's not uncommon for them to pass out. That's why GHB is being
legally tested for sleep disorders.

While GHB is not addictive and obviously doesn't kill everyone who uses it,
it can be dangerous. The two biggest threats have to do with mixing GHB
with alcohol and taking too much of it. GHB should never be consumed with
alcohol. GHB can make even a small dose of alcohol lethal and send the user
into a coma. Many of the deaths reported involving GHB have occurred when
users combined GHB with alcohol or other depressants.

Because it's not regulated and the concentration of the drug varies,
there's a risk of taking too much. Somebody may get GHB from one source and
have no problems, but the potency they get from a second source could be
different, Dodge said.

And if you're wondering what can happen if you consume too much GHB,
consider this description of an overdose, which was posted by one British
Internet group that supports illicit drug use: Pretty quickly he started to
feel sick, threw up, became incoherent and passed out. Soon after passing
out, he started to convulse, his arms and stomach and legs spasming. He
continued to vomit and his breathing was disturbed. Luckily we had a doctor
and some equipment available so we hooked him up to a bloodgas monitor,
turned him on his side and cleared his airway, which was difficult because
his mouth would clench and unclench. He breathing was wet meaning he had
respirated some of the vomit, but it didn't seem too dangerous. He was
monitored for a couple of hours and then stabilized. About six hours later
the user was able to walk.

Ketamine, a.k.a. Special K, is legal prescription drug primarily intended
for animals. Most of what's sold on the street to humans has been stolen
from veterinary offices or sold by unscrupulous veterinarians. Special K is
the acid of the '90s, only more potent. It's a psychedelic trip that puts
users in a dissociative state, meaning it makes them feel as if their mind
is separated from their body. It prompts hallucinations and deadens
physical pain, which can allow users to unwittingly hurt themselves. It
also affects coordination, thought and judgment, which increases the odds
of users putting themselves in a precarious situation. That's why
authorities sometimes call Special K a date rape drug.

As with most anesthetics, eating or drinking before taking the drug may
cause vomiting. And like most drugs, it should not be mixed with alcohol or
other drugs. Doing so may produce harmful effects and will also minimize
the desired effects. Mixing Special K with alcohol or other drugs can make
users agitated, violent, confused and unable to communicate. Special K
users are advised to stay in a controlled environment with friends.