How K2 and K3 Differ

Although K3 is made up of different chemicals than K2, the effects and dangers are largely the same. In the past few years, hospitals and poison control centers have sounded the alarms about fake pot products, warning of dangerous side effects such as extreme anxiety, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and seizures. Yet the demand for the drugs remains high, especially among teens, who are drawn to the drug because it is legal and does not show up in drug tests.

Like K2, K3 is advertised as incense and is labeled “not for human consumption” to avoid legal scrutiny. Unlike K2, websites that sell K3 indicate that the drug contains Damiana, an herb from South America, and other herbs that make it more potent. Users report that K3 more closely resembles marijuana than K2 in terms of appearance, but it is unclear which ingredients are responsible for the drug’s euphoric effects.

Legal Doesn’t Mean Safe 

Constant changes in the chemical compounds in these drugs forces local governments and law enforcement to remain vigilant in detecting new trends and amending laws to try to keep up. Because the DEA’s ban applies only to specific chemicals, the police have no authority to take action against stores selling K3 other than to test the products for chemicals on the banned list. Many of these stores also continue to sell bath salts, which are similar to meth or cocaine, and other synthetic drugs that have caused panic attacks and even psychosis among users.

Until the DEA takes a broader approach to regulating synthetic drugs, it’s up to parents, teachers and other concerned adults to discuss the drugs’ dangers with teens. When it comes to drugs, legal does not mean safe.

Teens apparently got the anti-smoking messages that cigarettes cause cancer and are addictive, but many believe that marijuana is safe to use because in some states, it can be prescribed as a medicine. Students told researchers that compared to cigarettes, they face less disapproval when they use marijuana, and it is easier to obtain and less risky.

Pot use is also up among eighth graders.

Over 20% of all high school seniors in the survey had used marijuana in the past 30 days.

What Heroin is and How it is Used

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) describes heroin as an addictive drug that is processed from morphine and usually appears as a white or brown powder, or a black, sticky substance known as “black tar.” Street names include smack, ska, H, and junk. Heroin can be injected, inhaled, smoked or taken orally. Injected heroin accounts for the highest percentage of male and female users, with 43 percent of male and 56 percent of female users choosing this route of administration. Inhalation ranks next, with 36 percent of males and 27 percent of females. Smoking, oral, and other routes of administration account for 11 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent (female) and 12 percent, 8 percent, and 1 percent (male), respectively.

Scope and Demographics of the Problem

Data from the 2007 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) shows that in 2007, there were just over 1,600 adolescent substance abuse treatment admissions for heroin abuse. The average age at first use was 14.8 years and 16.3 years at admission to treatment. This indicates approximately 18 months of heroin use prior to treatment. Even more troubling, more than half (56 percent) of adolescent heroin admissions had at least one prior treatment episode.

The majority of the adolescent users were non-Hispanic whites (72 percent male and 83 percent female), followed by Hispanic (19 percent male and 11 percent female), non-Hispanic Black (4 percent male and 3 percent female). American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander and Other were 1 percent each for male and the same for female with the exception of 3 percent for other.

The NIDA-funded 2008 Monitoring the Future Study (available at the University of Michigan website at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/) showed that 0.9 percent of 8th graders, 0.8 percent of 10th graders, and 0.7 percent of 12th graders had abused heroin at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. In 2008, 453,000 Americans age 12 and older had abused heroin at least once in the year prior to being surveyed by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website.

Source of Referral to Treatment

In terms of referring sources to treatment for adolescent heroin abuse, the percentages show a different split. Criminal justice system accounts for 39 percent of adolescent male treatment referrals versus 25 percent for female adolescents. Individual/self is nearly equal, with 31 percent female and 30 percent male. In the next three referring sources, the percentages are higher among females: substance abuse care provider (21 percent), other caregiver (11 percent), and other health provider (9 percent). Among males, the respective percentages are 15 percent, 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively. School referrals were 3 percent for both male and female adolescents.

Other Substances of Abuse and Co-occurring Disorder

Another issue that deserves attention relative to prevention and treatment considerations is the TEDS statistic that 87 percent of adolescents reporting heroin abuse also reported abuse of other substances. Marijuana led with more than half (56 percent) of heroin admissions also reporting marijuana abuse. Cocaine was third with nearly one-third (32 percent) reporting cocaine abuse and almost one-fifth (19 percent) of adolescents reporting heroin abuse also reported abusing alcohol.

In addition, almost one-third of adolescents with heroin abuse also suffer from a co-occurring psychiatric disorder. Interestingly, male adolescent heroin abusers were less likely than female counterparts to have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder (27 percent versus 37 percent).

Why Teens Abuse Heroin

Heroin is relatively cheap and easy to obtain in many major American cities, suburbs, towns, and rural areas – especially since the introduction of Mexican black tar heroin in the 1990s and the proliferation of drug trafficking distribution centers across the country ever since. Short-term effects include an immediate surge of euphoria and clouded thinking followed by alternately wakeful and drowsy states. You can recognize a heroin addict by the “nods” – where the eyes drift close and the head slumps forward.

Mexican black tar heroin is significantly cheaper than white or brown powdered heroin – and many times more potent. It’s also a steal compared to opioid painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin.

Medical Complications of Long-Term Use

Chronic heroin abuse has numerous long-term medical consequences. Users who inject the drug face increased risk of scarred and/or collapsed veins, abscesses (boils) and other soft-tissue infections, liver or kidney disease, and bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves.

Lung complications, including various types of pneumonia and tuberculosis, often result due to the poor overall health of the heroin abuser as well as from the depressing effect the drug has on the respiratory system.

Another danger is that many of the additives in street heroin may include substances that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging of the blood vessels leading to the brain, kidney, liver, or lungs. This may cause infection, or even death, of small patches of cells in the body’s vital organs. Immune reactions to these and other contaminants may cause arthritis and other rheumatologic problems.

Sharing of injection equipment or fluids can also lead to some of the most severe medical consequences of long-term heroin use: infections with hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS, and many other bloodborne viruses. Not only will these infect the abuser, but they may also be passed along to sexual partners and children.

Heroin Abuse Can be Fatal

In terms of classical conditioning, a person tries heroin, likes the euphoria, tries the drug again and again, builds up tolerance, requires more of the drug and more often, and becomes dependent or addicted to the drug. Whenever he or she tries to get off the drug, withdrawal symptoms occur within hours. These are accompanied by intense and unrelenting cravings for the drug that push the individual back into using.

When a heroin addict uses the exact amount of the drug that they normally use, but the surroundings are different than normal (environment), or he is injected when he is not expecting it, or the purity level of the heroin is more potent than anticipated – death can occur in an instant. It is estimated that about 1 percent of heroin addicts die each year after injecting their normal dose. This is nothing short of Russian roulette. You never know when the next dose may kill you.

Treatment for Teen Heroin Addiction

As with any heroin addict, treatment cannot begin until the individual undergoes complete detoxification to eliminate the drug from the body. Medically-supervised detox assures that the patient receives round-the-clock attention and care to help minimize withdrawal effects. Following detox, the patient can then begin a personalized treatment program that has been created according to their individual needs.

Most treatment programs for heroin addiction, including those for teens, consist of individual counseling and group therapy sessions, as well as educational lectures, learning how to identify triggers, developing effective coping mechanisms, sessions on relapse prevention, and aftercare. Family treatment is also crucial in helping to prepare the family for the teen’s return to the home environment.

Prevention Programs

To be most effective, prevention programs need to be targeted at adolescents before the probable age of first use (the age of 14).
In addition, treatment professionals should thoroughly examine the types of programs they provide to adolescent heroin abusers. If the adolescent client is at least 16 years old and has parental consent, the use of opioid maintenance therapy may be recommended – in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy. Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), cite experts in the field that say buprenorphine should be the treatment of choice for adolescents with short-term heroin addiction.

Age-appropriate relapse and recovery services should potentially also be required both to promote and sustain recovery for adolescent heroin abusers.

Prevention programs should include family-based, school, and community prevention programs.

• Family-based prevention programs – Since family bonding is the bedrock of healthy, enduring relationships between parents and children, family-based prevention programs should parenting skills; practice in developing, discussing and enforcing family policies on substance abuse, and training in drug education and information. Parents need to know how to effectively monitor and supervise their children to prevent drug abuse, learn about substance abuse so that they are up-to-date on the harmful effects of these drugs, and adopt changes to parenting behavior that can reduce later risks of drug use in their children.

• School prevention programs – Prevention programs can be designed for use in pre-school and elementary school – to get a jump on creating the awareness about the harmful effects of drugs. Reinforcement of these messages with continuing substance abuse prevention programs in middle school and high school is also necessary. Such programs in the upper grades should focus on reinforcement of anti-drug attitudes, drug resistance skills, strengthening personal commitments against drug abuse, communication, self-efficacy and self-assertiveness, study habits and academic support, and peer relationships.

• Community prevention programs – Research shows the benefits of consistent community-wide messages of drug prevention programs. Community prevention programs aimed at specific populations – such as key transition points between middle and high school – offer benefits even among high-risk families and children. Two or more effective programs, such as school-based and community-based, may be more effective than a single prevention program. Community prevention programs may occur in multiple settings: the media, clubs, schools, and religious organizations, among others.

Teen Heroin Abuse Affects Many People

When a teen abuses heroin, it isn’t just the teen that suffers. Teen heroin addiction causes major harm to the lives of many people – family members and friends included. Often, this results in lifelong hurt and irreparable damage to relationships.
In addition there are the other problems that are strongly rooted in heroin addiction: robbery and burglary, teen pregnancy, legal and social difficulties, and major illness (in addition to heroin addiction).

Imagine a teen who first started using heroin at age 14 and increased use to a point where injecting the drug occurred daily for about 18 years. The result is a person whose life is a never-ending pursuit of smack, body wracked and ruined, relationships strained to the point of breaking, and a seriously warped psychological outlook. Does this sound incredible? It isn’t. Real-life stories such as this are vividly documented on series such as Addicted and Intervention.

The fact is that without treatment, a heroin addict – any heroin addict, teen or adult – will continue to deteriorate until they wind up institutionalized, in jail, or dead. It’s as simple and as bleak as that. But treatment can be effective – if the addict genuinely wants to quit the downward spiral and commits to getting and remaining clean and sober.

Prevention and Treatment – Both Are Necessary

In the end, there’s no single solution to teen heroin addiction. But the combination of consistent prevention messages and programs along with effective treatment can go a long way toward helping to reduce the problem.

When the Partnership for a Drug Free America launched anti-heroin campaign in the mid-1990s, the rates of heroin abuse were dramatically reduced. It is widely believed that there’s a generational forgetting that occurs, in that one generation that hears and absorbs the anti-drug messages is succeeded by another that has not heard such messages (because they don’t exist or the focus is on another drug) and is enticed to try the drugs.

Is it necessary to scare our kids into pledging never to try drugs? Scare is not the appropriate word to use, but educating them on the dangers of drugs and alcohol is not only a wise preventive parental practice – it is also an effective one. Couple parental-based prevention programs with those in the school and the community, and there’s an excellent chance that heroin (and other addictive substances) will once again fade into the background. For those who are addicted, effective treatment programs continue to offer the best hope for recovery.

When an adolescent uses an inhalant, they breathe it into the nose or mouth and it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream from the lungs. Its effects are quickly felt, though the duration is short. However, inhalants can be very dangerous, not only causing stress on breathing passages, but also causing problems for the central nervous system.

A recent study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) examined the dynamics of inhalant use combined with the complication of suffering from a respiratory condition, such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and sinusitis. It defined as an inhalant "liquids, sprays, and gases that people sniff or inhale to get high or to make them feel good."

The NSDUH asked respondents aged 12 years and older to give information about the use of inhalants during their lifetime, past year and past month. The adolescents were also asked to report about their history with the four respiratory conditions. The findings are from combined 2006 to 2008 NDSUH data.

Approximately 2.4 million adolescents used an inhalant during their lifetime, and 1.0 million adolescents used an inhalant in the last year, equating to 9.7 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.

Females were slightly more likely to use inhalants than males (4.3 versus 3.9 percent) and the highest number of inhalant users were aged 14 or 15 years old. Asians and blacks were less likely than other races to have used inhalants in the past year.

13.5 percent of all respondents indicated that they had been told by a doctor that they suffered at least one of the following respiratory conditions: asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and sinusitis.

There was no difference in respiratory conditions between genders and the results were also consistent between age groups. Rates of respiratory conditions were higher, however, with respondents that were of two or more races.

Approximately 143,000 respondents, or 0.6 percent, had both used inhalants and had a respiratory condition in the past year. 1 in 20 adolescents who had reported at least one respiratory condition also had used an inhalant in the past year.
The most commonly used inhalants by those with at least one respiratory condition were glue shoe polish or toluene, gasoline or lighter fluid, and spray paints.
Because inhalants are legal and easy to access, it is important to understand the risks associated with using them to get high among U.S. adolescents who also have a respiratory condition. Though their effects are rapid and fade quickly, they can be very dangerous and even lethal.
 

In addition, binge drinking was down in 2009 with 23.6 percent of students reporting they had engaged in the activity, down from 28.7 percent in 2007. At the same time, 36.7 percent of high school students reported that they had at least one drink in the past 30 days.

The bad news focused on prescription drug abuse among high school students. This survey revealed that more than 20 percent of students used prescription drugs including OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax without a prescription. Over-the-counter drugs have also been used by 11 percent of students to get high. This type of abuse was not surveyed in 2007.

ONE Voice for Southeastern New Hampshire, United Way of the Greater Seacoast, N.H. Department of Education and N.H. Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services work together to conduct the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Roughly 3,800 students from seven regional high schools participated in the survey.

Melissa Silvey, coordinator of ONE Voice for Southeastern New Hampshire, referred to the survey as providing a glimpse into how teenagers are living. "We’re investing money, resources and manpower into preventative education for parents and teens right now," Silvey said. "The fact that use of many illegal drugs and alcohol are decreasing is encouraging."

The only illegal drug that has been proven to rival the use of prescription drugs by students is marijuana as 25.5 percent of students had used it in the past 30 days. This figure is down from 32.1 percent in 2007. The survey has also found a slight decrease in the use of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy and steroids.

When you smoke marijuana, the THC quickly goes into the bloodstream from your lungs. Your blood transfers it to the organs in your body, including your brain. THC targets certain sites in your brain known as cannabinoid receptors. The resulting activity in the brain causes a pleasurable “high”. Most people who smoke marijuana experience feelings of relaxation and loosening of inhibitions. They also often lose track of time.

Unfortunately, marijuana use can also cause paranoia, coordination problems, impaired problem solving, memory problems, decreased motivation, poor judgment, anxiety and hallucinations.

Scientists have long been concerned about the effects of marijuana on the brains of adolescent users. It appears their concern is warranted. Recent research conducted by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi of McGill University Health Center suggests that when adolescents use cannabis daily, the consequences may include anxiety, depression, and permanent effects on their brains.

The purpose of her research was to determine if adolescents were more vulnerable to the neurological impact of cannabis use than adults. She also wanted to study the effects of cannabis on young users. The research of Dr. Gobbi suggests that cannabis affects serotonin and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters associated with both anxiety and mood disorders.

Adolescents who are exposed to this drug are thus more vulnerable to stress long-term, and may be more susceptible to developing a mood disorder.

While previous research has focused primarily on the effects of marijuana use on adolescent behavior, Dr. Gobbi’s study focused on the neurobiological relationship between adolescent cannabis use and anxiety and depression. Her research is the first to show that use of marijuana is especially damaging for teens – more so than for adults. In other words, the long-term effects of the drug when used during adolescent years may be irreversible.

Dr. Gobbi’s study was recently published in Neurobiology of Disease.

A new report in the Auburn Journal shows that this drug is attractive not only because of its effectiveness in treating pain, but also its ability to stabilize moods and as a tool for relaxation or to lower anxiety.

It is the mood altering effects of the drug that often cause it to be used recreationally. The drug also delivers a warm, fuzzy feeling, which leads to dizziness, fatigue and severe headaches. In more extreme cases the drug can also cause circulatory collapse, shallow breathing and even death.

The risk of overdose can be extraordinarily high with OxyCodone simply because you never know how much you are taking. And, if a tolerance builds, the user is at even more risk.

“OxyCodone is prescribed based on how much pain you are in and your weight. When you take someone else’s medication that is made for them, you’re always putting yourself at risk,” said one local pharmacist in the Auburn Journal.

The rise in use of OxyCodone is also a result of its lucrative street value. When sold on the street, this drug can be valued at as much as $80. Not only has the street market driven use, it also drives individuals to get a prescription in order to sell on the street for a profit.

A study completed in 2005 found that one in 20 high school students admitted to either knowing or having tried the drug. When the study was done again in 2009, one in 10 knew someone involved with the drug.
 

Action Committee Against Narcotics Chairman Professor Daniel Shek said there were 8,916 drug users reported in the first six months of the year, 1.7% more than the same period last year. The number of drug users under 21 years old rose from 2,106 to 2,175. Shek said he is particularly concerned about drug users aged 12 to 15, the number of which has grown 25% from 204 to 256.

The number of newly reported female abusers under 21 increased 19.3% from 409 to 488. There were 47 drug users under 21 found in schools during the first half of the year, exceeding the 46 found for all of last year.

Shek said more young people have been identified because the popular drug ketamine is cheap and more users are willing to turn themselves in. He said there are more female users as it is easy for them to get free drugs, and some have the misconception that they can lose weight by taking amphetamines.

Committee members endorsed the trial scheme on school drug testing in Tai Po at their quarterly meeting today. It was agreed that a consultant will be hired to study the trial, due to start in December. The consultant will suggest long-term anti-drug strategies. A report is expected by August 2010.

Commissioner for Narcotics Sally Wong said the government is looking to increase sites for community drug rehabilitation. Non-governmental organizations will also soon be invited to express interest in providing the service.

"Calls related to teenaged victims of prescription ADHD medication abuse rose 76%, which is faster than calls for victims of substance abuse generally and teen substance abuse," writes researcher Jennifer Setlik, MD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and colleagues.

ADHD affects between 8% and 12% of children and 4% of adults worldwide, and there has been a significant increase in the sale of stimulant drugs designed to treat the condition in recent years.

Overall, researchers say the sharp rise in ADHD drug abuse mirrored a similar increase in the prescription numbers among teens, but the abuse of certain types of ADHD drugs is outpacing sales.

Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy Of Pediatrics, stopped by CBS’s The Early Show to discuss this alarming trend. "I think we’re seeing more and more use of ADHD drugs in general because there’s more awareness," she said. "But the more we prescribe the medication, the more it is out there in the community, and the more there is a risk for abuse."

When teens not affected by ADHD take drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall, they experience a performance enhancing high and are able to study longer or stay up later. Some teens are using the drugs for their appetite suppressant qualities to lose weight.

Levine explained that many kids get the medication from their friends, and urged parents to be on the lookout. The drugs can be dangerous if you don’t need them, according to Levine, who explained that kids are typically screened for heart disease and get an EKG before getting the prescription.

Beyond an almost immediate sense of euphoria and loss of inhibition, date rape drugs pose a serious threat to users, many of whom are unsuspecting. Imagine going to a club and waking up the next morning, bruised and sore, evidence of sexual activity present – and you have no recollection of any of it. It’s what happens in those intervening hours that’s every parent’s nightmare – and one that’s just beginning for the victims.

What They Are

The four date rape drugs are substances that render a person incapable of resisting unwanted sexual advances and assaults resulting in rape. Both men and women are potential victims.

Ecstasy (MDMA) is a synthetic chemical that can be derived from the oil of the sassafrass tree. The drug produces similar effects as amphetamines and hallucinogens. These street drugs are notoriously unpredictable due to questionable purity, drug strength and combination of chemicals added.

Ketamine is a surgical anesthetic and veterinary sedative. When used in humans, it produces a dissociative anesthetic effect.

Rohypnol is a prescription sedative/depressant (not manufactured or available in the U.S. legally, but common on the street). It comes in doses of .5, 1 and 2 milligram strength. The drug’s manufacturer recently changed the drug’s formula so that it changes color when added to liquid.

GHB (gammy hydroxyl butyrate), a colorless and odorless liquid, acts like a depressant and anesthetic to the central nervous system. It was banned in the U.S. in 1990 and is also illegal in Canada and parts of Europe. It is made in illegal drug labs or by home chemists and sold on the street.

Common Slang

Street names for date rape drugs depend on the type of drug. Ecstasy has street and slang names that include: E, Adam, X, XTC, bean, clarity, essence, Stacy, lover’s speed and Eve.

On the street, GHB has names such as: easy lay, EZ lay, liquid dream, liquid ecstasy, Elle, grievous bodily harm, liquid X, X, X rater, XTC, chemical X, scoop, scoop her, and get-her-to-bed.

Ketamin is called: ket, special K, K, super K, OK, KO, vitamin K, ket kat, Kid Rock, and make-her-mine.

Rohypnol street names include: roofies, ruffles, ruff up, rigde, roche, Roach 2, rophy, rib, R2, R2-Do-You, forget-me pill, and Mexican valium.

Identifying a Date Rape Drug

Ecstasy comes in pill form in varying colors, usually white, yellow or brown, with various sizes and shapes, often stamped with a symbol or brand name. GHB is a colorless, odorless liquid. Ketamine looks like an off-white powder in undiluted form. When diluted, it appears to be cloudy water. Rohypnol comes in a small white pill with a split line on the pill on one side and the name “Roche” (the worldwide producer Hoffman La Roche) and a stamped numeral 1 or 2 in a circle on the other side.

How Date Rape Drugs Are Used

Sexual predators crush pills or pour liquid date rape drugs into unsuspecting victims’ drinks and food. Since most of the date rape drugs are colorless and odorless and extremely fast acting, victims have no defense against them. They become unconscious but still capable of movement, and have no memory of what transpired afterward – and no ability to identify their attackers. This makes date rape drugs extremely dangerous and the perpetrators difficult to find and prosecute.

Effects of Date Rape Drugs

Date rape drugs quickly enter the bloodstream, rendering the victim unconscious in a very short period of time. While unconscious, however, they retain some bodily movement. To an onlooker, the person may just appear inebriated. Sexual predators feign affection so that to passersby, it simply looks like concern. Or they could say their partner has “had a little too much.” While the drug is in the victim’s system, they’ll have little or no memory of what happened.

Victims may appear to be overly affectionate and uninhibited due to the drug’s quick-acting effects. They cannot think clearly or make appropriate judgments, however, and are therefore passive in the face of attack.

All drug traces leave the body within 72 hours after ingestion. No standard blood tests or toxicology screens will detect the drug. Again, this makes it difficult to prosecute.

How They Hurt You

The worst effect of date rape drugs is that you are raped. Not only that, but you may also suffer beatings or be raped repeatedly and by many individuals. You may contract one of several sexually-transmitted diseases. You could become pregnant.

Rape is a psychologically and emotionally scarring event that requires counseling to overcome. Beyond the immediate effects, there are consequences that may ruin a victim’s life. Having to make a decision about a child conceived during the course of the date rape, or becoming unable to bear children as a result of a sexually-transmitted disease, facing the shame and guilt arising from the rape – all of these have profound long-term effects on the person who was raped.

Date rape drugs have numerous negative side effects, including:

• Increased heart rate, pulse, blood pressure

• Unconsciousness

• Severe respiratory difficulty

• Seizures

• Coma

• Death

Signs that you (or someone close to you) have been raped include:

• Bruising and soreness in the genital and anal areas

• Bruising and soreness on the thighs (both inner and/or outer)

• Bruising and soreness on the arms and wrists

• Scratches and bruises that may indicate you put up a struggle

• A hung-over feeling despite having consumed little or no alcohol

• Hallucinations

• Fleeting memories of being intoxicated (without consuming drugs or alcohol)

Are Date Rape Drugs Addictive?

With repeated use, Rohypnol can become addicting, as can ecstasy. GHB, used repeatedly, can lead to severe withdrawal reactions after an overdose, especially if used in combination with alcohol and other drugs. Ketamine binging, according to the NIDA, produces behavior similar to that of amphetamine- and cocaine-dependent individuals. Users can also develop ketamine tolerance and cravings.