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In ERs, Club Drug Incidents Seem to Plateau
August 3, 2004

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Research Summary

A new federal study says that emergency-room visits related to so-called club drugs, such as GHB, ketamine, and ecstasy, either leveled off or declined in 2002.

The report, "Club Drugs, 2002 Update," issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found that ER visits associated with GBH fell by a third between 2000 and 2002. LSD visits also declined, while ecstasy and ketamine visits did not change substantially in recent years.

Saying these drugs are associated with serious health consequences and can cause death, SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said, "It appears more and more young people are heeding this message and abandoning use of these destructive substances."

ER visits for club drugs had doubled between 1994 and 1999, but such incidents have remained relatively rare throughout the years. All club-drug related incidents accounted for just 1.2 percent of drug-related ER visits in 2002, for instance.

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