Club Drug Addiction

Also known as designer drugs, club drugs are synthetic, psychoactive compounds that are popular with younger crowds that frequent night clubs, bar, and raves. Most of these drugs are central nervous system depressants and produce a range of euphoric effects. Ecstasy, the most common drug in this category, takes its name from these effects. Other drugs in this category include MDMA (the main ingredient in most ecstasy), Ketamine, Rohypnol (“roofies,” the date rape drug), and GHB.

Club Drugs are not prescription medication, they are home-brewed.

Although ecstasy and it’s cousins look like prescription drugs, they are manufactured illegally in facilities with very little quality control. If you don’t know the chemist (and sometimes even if you do), anything could be cooked into the drug. High doses of these compounds can lead to muscle breakdown, kidney and cardiovascular failure, and even death.

Anything could be cooked into the drug.

These compounds don’t produce a physical dependence the way crack, meth, and heroin do but using these drugs regularly will build up a tolerance that requires more and more to get the same effects. When you form an emotional or psychological addiction to that synthetically manufactured bliss, it can become a real problem that eats away at your health, your wallet, and your relationships.

If you or someone you know is abusing synthetic “club drugs,” look for help in treatment and rehabilitation programs near you.

Not only do these drugs produce euphoric states fit for a good time, they also reduce appetite and the need for sleep, at least temporarily. This makes them attractive to teenagers and young professionals who don’t realize the tax that comes with that chemical relationship. When these drugs become an addictive problem in your life, the first step is to stop using them. The detox won’t be as painful as, say, meth withdrawal, but it will leave you feeling incredibly low for days or weeks.

Once you kick the habit, you realize you don’t need the stuff anyway.

The depression, anxiety, and confusion that often accompanies a detox from designer drugs can be difficult to go through alone. Recovery programs can be inpatient or outpatient but involve cognitive behavioral therapy to teach you how to deal with the temptations and reduce your dependency on the mental zone produced by these chemicals. More importantly, it provides a support group of other recovering addicts that can bolster your resolve and help you adjust to sobriety.

Rehab is about getting clean and staying there.

After completing a rehab program, patients are recommended to attend aftercare sessions. These are touch points with your support group that can help you maintain a focus. The good news is that full recoveries from club drug addictions are very high, higher than any other drug addiction. Once you kick the habit, you realize you don’t need the stuff anyway.

Designer drug abuse is often rooted in the party scene, behind a desire to cut loose and be free for social interaction and enjoyment. As an occasional add-on, ecstasy can be a memorable experience to a night out. But taken to excess and abused, you begin to damage your own ideas of a good time. This is the basis for how psychological addictions start. More and more is required to satisfy your thrill seeking sensibilities. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A party is a party because of the people and their intent, not the chemicals in their bloodstream.

Once you’ve made it through an addiction recovery, it will be necessary to replace the molly with a healthier alternative. It may even be time to re-evaluate your lifestyle to see where your real sources of joy and ecstatic bliss can be found. 

Replace the molly with a healthier alternative.

It may not be that you have to stop going out to clubs or bars but perhaps you should do so sober. If being the sober guy at the club isn’t appealing, find new ways to have a good time on the weekends with friends. If your social circle is full of drug use, spend some time with a new crowd to gain some perspective on the environment that previously put you down the path of addiction. 

Find new ways to have a good time on the weekends

You will always be aware of the triggers that are dangerous to your sobriety and recovery. Know enough about yourself to know that having a drink will send you searching for pills, if that’s the case. Don’t put yourself in tempting situations and you’ll be proud of the lifelong success for your addiction recovery.