Recreational Drug Facts

The use of drugs for purposes other than prescribed medical use is considered recreational drug use. While street drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and crack have been among the most popular types of recreational drugs used in the past, there has been a recent rise in the use of prescribed drugs for other than their intended use. The use of prescribed drugs is often considered innocuous and benign, but can have serious consequences for the user. Club drugs such as GHB and others are also on the rise.

• Marijuana is just one of the recreational drugs used.

Club Drugs

• Use of 'club drugs' is widespread.

  There are a wide range of what are known of as "club drugs" available today. The White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet states that these drugs include GHB (Goop), MDMA (Ecstacy or E), Ketamine (Special K) and Rohypnol (Roofies). Many of these drugs are used in the clubbing scene by teens and young adults. GHB and MDMA are commonly known as drugs that enhance emotions of sensuality and make one receptive to sexual activities. MDMA sometimes has Ketamine added, which can also influence feelings of heightened sexual attraction. Rohypnol is known as a date-rape drug and often individuals who have taken or been given Rohypnol do not remember the evening or what has happened to them. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with SAMHSA's National Clearing House for Alcohol and Drug Prevention not only do club drugs affect the user at the time the drug is taken but it can also have negative, long-lasting effects on motor skills and memory function.

Cannabis

• Cannabis

  Cannabis is also known as marijuana, grass, weed or pot. Some states in the United States have legalized the use of marijuana for medical use, but it requires a statement or prescription from a medical doctor as to the medical condition. Marijuana is a plant that is harvested for the sticky buds, which contain the part of the plant that is smoked. Cannabis is noted by the White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet to be one of the most popular forms of recreational drugs used in the United States. In 2007 a study that was funded by the NIDA called 2007 Monitoring the Future study showed that about 32 percent of 12th grade students had used marijuana in the past year. This study also showed that about 11 percent of eighth graders along with about 25 percent or 10th graders had also used marijuana in the past year.

Methamphetamine

• One way to use methamphetamine is by injection.

  Methamphetamine is also known as meth, crank or ice. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that has gained in popularity in the past two decades. Meth is smoked, snorted or injected in its most popular forms. According to the White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet, it is highly addictive due to the short range effect of using the drug. The user experiences a short high in which she has increased desire for activity and decreased appetite. However, the effect does not last long, and she needs to use again quickly in order to maintain the high.

Crack

• Crack is smoked to get high.

  Crack is a form of cocaine that gained in popularity in the 1980s and is again on the rise according to the White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet. Crack is cocaine that has been cooked down until instead being a powder it has become a hard sheet of drugs that can be broken into small rocks that are sold to users. The attraction of this type of recreational street drug is that it can be purchased in small quantities for much less money than cocaine. Crack is highly addictive because the high only lasts a short period of time and more and more of the drug needs to be used to gain the same high.

Prescription Drugs

• Prescription drug use is prevalent.

  According to the White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet, recreational use of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana. Prescription drugs can be abused by both adults and teens, although teen recreational use has had more media attention in the past several years. Drugs that are commonly abused include pain killers (Oxy and Vicodan), sedatives (Ativan and Valium) and stimulants (Ritalin). Often teens take medications from family members who do not closely monitor their prescribed medicines. The danger of using these drugs recreationally is that they may interact with other medications and produce an unexpected reaction and may even be lethal.