In recent years, abuse of gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a central nervous system depressant, has been increasing in the UK among young people and adolescents. It is classified as a class C drug in the UK (Home Office, 2007). GBH is frequently taken with alcohol and produces an intoxicating effect. GHB can be available in form of liquid, white powder, tablets, or capsules. GHB can produce numerous central nervous depressant like drowsiness and sedation and other effects like hallucinations, hypotension, bradycardia (reduced heart rate), severe respiratory depression, and coma.
GBH is commonly used as a weapon for sexual assault (date rapes) (USDOJ, 2005). It is commonly abused by adolescents and young adults in nightclubs and is prominently being used among many gay male communities in the UK. Ketamine Ketamine is a drug which is commonly used in medicine as a general anesthetic drug. Ketamine is also known to produce dissociative anesthesia as individuals when anesthetized with this drug, feel detached or disconnected from their pain (USDOJ, 2005). In the UK, this drug is commonly being abused and is classified as a class C drug according to Substance Misuse Act, 1971 (Home Office, 2005).
Ketamine can be injected, snorted or smoked. Large doses produce effects similar to that of a hallucinogenic drug called phencyclidine. It can result in a dream like state and produce hallucinations (altered perceptions). Hallucinogens Hallucinogens are a group of drugs which are capable of altering human perception and mood. Though most of the drugs belonging to this group are capable of producing hallucinations, some of the drugs may not produce any hallucinatory affect on being used (USDOJ, 2005). The characteristic feature associated with the use of hallucinogens is the experience of “flashbacks” by the person who abuses them.
These flashbacks may appear weeks or even months later after using hallucinogens (USDOJ, 2005). These flashbacks are in form of fragmentary recollection of certain aspects of the drug experience, which occur when the individual has not been taking these drugs since a long time. The person may experience vivid illusions and may feel that the time has become still or colors are changing and taking on new significance (USDOJ, 2005). The impaired judgment caused by the use of hallucinogens can often result in accidents and rash decisions. LSD
LSD is the short form of the chemical called Lysergic acid diethylamide and is one of the most powerful hallucinogenic compounds occurring on the surface of earth. It is so powerful that a small dose equivalent to 20 to 80 micrograms is capable of producing desirable effect lasting for ten to twelve hours (USDOJ, 2005). The typical effects of LSD are often referred as “LSD trip”. A “trip” can be good or bad and may last for twelve hours or more. A bad trip can result in a frightening experience. Unless the person consumes LSD, it is difficult to predict the kind of experience he would have.
Trips can also intensify the person’s mood. Thus an individual must avoid taking LSD if he is in bad mood. Due to the fact that minute amount of LSD (equivalent to a few grains of salt) is capable of producing the desirable effect, LSD is usually impregnated into strips of paper, known as blotter acid, which are usually imprinted with colorful graphic deigns in order to attract the young people. Besides this, LSD is also sold in form of tablets (microdots), thin squares of gelatin (window panes), in sugar cubes and in liquid form (USDOJ, 2005).
Consumption of LSD can produce physical reactions like reduced body temperature resulting in sensation of cold, dilatation of pupils, resulting in poor adaptation to darkness, pilo-erection (contraction of muscles controlling the hair present on the skin resulting in “goose bumps,” profuse perspiration, increased blood sugar levels and increased heart rate. As a result of hallucinations the person may lose touch with reality and may suffer from distorted perception of time, space, colors, sounds and sometimes even his own body image (USDOJ, 2005).
The individual may typically describe “hearing colors” and “seeing sounds. ” He may experience mood changes and an impaired ability to make decisions and judgments. This makes him more susceptible to personal injuries and accidents. The person may experience acute anxiety or depression for a variable period of time after he stops taking this drug. The person may also experience flashbacks for a period of days or months after the last dose (USDOJ, 2005).