Feature __________
5
WedNEsdAy, M arc H 15, 2002
ThE CI ac I camas P rint
Spring Break 2002
The highs, lows
of designer drugs
money if you screw up your high
by doing something.”
Business Manager
Although Ecstasy is more preva
lent as a designer drug than other
She can feel the drug taking hold, illicit drugs, GHB, or “G,” is becom
her energy level is reaching eu ing increasingly popular. Mary has
phoric proportions and her normal toyed around with GHB, combining
inhibitions are giving way to reck it with Ecstasy.
less abandonment.
“It (GHB) a different kind of high,
It has been nearly an hour since the *E* just makes you feel really
“Mary,” a Clackamas student who good, and it gives you this energy
doesn’t want to be identified, first and you’re just really happy. The 'G'
took the Ecstasy, and her psyche is doesn’t do anything like that, it is
feeling the beat of the music that physical. It feels really good. You
fills her ears. Mary’s body begins to tingle, the tips of your fingers are all
move in stride with the rhythm, her tingly,” Mary says emphatically.
mind becoming lost in a cloud of
With the use of club drugs comes
haziness.
the risk of damage that they may
She is at a friend’s housdflothe^Bsc
»eMhone - ’s ___
bddffiyh
y,
mentally
S pring B reak S ites
www.yahootravel.com
www.swatup.com
NICK BARRON_______
basement has been trahsfcmgd into
a make-do dance club, complete with
techno nyusicagy^
..... . fl^ brMies
. . and .
nuip^^^xnupdrugs, sup^p Ec-
stasytandGHB.
.
What is a club .drug?
I |
Barbara Ryan, editor for the “Pre-
and physically. The, long-term af-
fects of Ecstasy on humans remain
virtually unknown; but it’s been
shown to cause brain damage in
laboiatoi > animals.
EcstaWWneurotoxic
Ecstasy is a*neurotoxic that
that could
could
j||$e long lasting, if not permanent,
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vention Pipeline,” the Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention’s bi-
monthly magazine, explains what a
“Allub drug is a vague term that t
refers to a wi de variety of drugs, and
uncertainty about the drug sources
and pharmacological agents and the
chemicals used to manufacture them
and possible contaminants make it
difficult to determine toxicity.”
Some examples of club, or de
signer, drugs are Ecstasy, GHB,
Ketamine, and Rohypnol (better
known as “roofies”).
Ecstasy can be taken orally
through a tablet or capsule, and
generally lasts 3-6 hours. X, as Ec
stasy is commonly known, boosts
the taker’s eneigy level, temporarily
enhances their self-confidence, and
allows them to “let loose.”
On the flip side of Ecstasy, the
user’s heart rate increases along with
their blood pressure. They may be
come dehydrated, nauseous, para
noid and suffer from rapid eye move
ment
“The source of these drugs is of
ten times not known by the people
taking them,” Ryan states.
But Mary knows exactly who her
suppliers are, they are doctors with
Ph.D.s who know exactly how to
concoct club drugs the proper way.
As for cost, Mary has the kind of
connections an avid user would love
to have, which is never having to
pay for her drugs. This avoidance
of a cost, along with her desire to
try new things, are the two biggest
factors behind Mary’s choice to use
club drugs.
Mary says, “It’s just to get the
feel. And I got them for free, and as
long as you can get them for free,
it’s kind of.. .fun. It’s experimenting,
and you’re not paying for it, so
you’re not going to waste your
damage to the memory capabilities
of the human mind. In GHB, the user
runs the risk of death or slipping
a coma, as the drug slows down
t he user’s breathing and heart rate.
Mary doesn’t worry about the
hazards involved in taking club
drugs, though.
“I know a little bit more than I
think most people do about them,
and I know how to prevent it, and I
know what it’s doing to me,” Mary
says.'
When it comes to taking designer
drugs during the week, Mary shies
away from-that kind of behavior. In
actuality,’the only time she does use
club drugs is during the summer, or
perhaps random weekends.
During Spring Break, Mary
doesn’t plan on using club drugs,
but not due to lack of desire.
“To get it, I would have to go
through sources I don’t want to go
through,” she said.
Other college students will not be
as intelligent, or perhaps lucky, as
Mary when it comes to their Spring
Break plans. Some 18-25 year olds
will no doubt be enjoying designer
drugs during their parties and vaca
tions, most of them not knowing the
creator of their drugs.
While Mary believes it is “a per
sonal choice” to use club drugs, and
she feels that the drugs have not
harmed her in any way, we are un
able to see the future. Mary plans
to discard the use of designer drugs
eventually, but methadone clinics
and drug rehabilitation centers are
full of individuals who always
planned to quit taking illegal drugs.
For Mary’s sake, let’s hope she
sticks to her commitment to quit,
sooner rather than later.
To'teach Nick Barron e-mail
barronoru@hotmail.com or drop
byB-104.