WORKSHOP RAISES CLUB DRUG AWARENESS

Media Credit: Will DeShazer

Drug consultant Trinka Porrata of Passadina, Calif., shows footage of people
at a rave while on Ecstasy. Porrata has been teaching people about MDMA
(Ecstasy) and GHB (Gamma Hdroxy Butyrate) now for five years.

Partying and club hopping is a part of college life. However, many people do
not relate muscle spasms, hallucinations and blackouts with their average
night on the town.

Yesterday, retired Los Angeles Police officer and drug consultant Trinka
Porrata presented a workshop at the Alive Center on 31-W Bypass about how
partying and clubbing can lead to danger.

Porrata talked to about 15 people about the effects of Gamma Hydroxy
Butyrate (GHB) and Ecstasy [MDMA-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine] on high
school and college students.

Porrata said Web sites and some medical officials are giving the impression
that GHB and Ecstasy are not addictive. She said these drugs are addictive
and harmful.

"There are traffic accidents, dental related issues and brain damage from
Ecstasy," Porrata said.

Ecstasy can be taken as a pill or laced with Tootsie Rolls, Vick's vapor rub
and pacifiers.

She also said permanent eye damage from light exposure at Ecstasy parties is
serious.

Porrata presented a video of young people passing out, losing muscle control
and dehydrating from using Ecstasy.

Under the influence of Ecstasy, she said, women are easily persuaded into
sexual situations.

Porrata said GHB is associated with clubbing and is known as the "date rape
drug." It can be taken as a capsule, through powders or through liquids.

Porrata said GHB is undetectable in liquid, making it easy for rapists to
sedate their victim.

Western's faculty and staff took heed to the important message about date
rape and club drugs on campus.

Kathryn Steward, health education coordinator of Health Services, said when
she gives presentations on GHB, some students are shocked to find that they
have been affected by it.

"They come up after presentations and say, 'I think this happened to me, I
was a lot more drunk than I should have been. I was messed up immediately
and I don't know why," she said.

Molly Kerby, instructor of women's health, said it is important for the
faculty to be aware of these drugs.

"The more that we know about it as educators, we can identify problems," she
said. "If you see kids with pacifiers in their mouths and glow sticks during
the day, there might be something to watch."