Profiles of Club Drug Users in Treatment

Abstract

There is little in the literature about treatment of persons with problems with “club” or “party” drugs. This paper looks at the characteristics of individuals admitted to treatment for primary, secondary, or tertiary problems with club drugs such as ecstasy, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), ketamine, flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), methamphetamine, and hallucinogens (e.g., LSD) in programs funded by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Some 38,350 unduplicated records from 1988 through 2003 of persons admitted with problems with club drugs were compared against users of alcohol or other drugs. Club drug users were more impaired on five of six Addiction Severity Index (ASI) indices at admission and they were more likely to use multiple substances more often. They were more likely than users of alcohol or other drugs to complete treatment, but this varied by drug. At follow-up 90 days after discharge, club drug users continued to report more ASI problems. Profiles of these clients show that ecstasy use has spread beyond the club culture, as indicated by the changes in client demographics over time. GHB clients presented a mixed picture of severe problems at admission and good response to treatment. Hallucinogen clients were young and less likely to complete treatment, while Rohypnol users were on the Texas-Mexico border. The methamphetamine epidemic has resulted in increased admissions, and the proportion of “Ice” smokers has increased. However, methamphetamine clients were less likely to complete treatment and their higher level of problems at admission and follow-up are of concern. Of special note are the indications of co-occurring problems and the need for both mental health and substance dependence treatment for some clients.

Keywords:

• club drug user treatment
• ecstasy
• GHB
• ketamine
• Rohypnol
• methamphetamine
• ice
• hallucinogens
• LSD
• Texas
• party drug user treatment

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jane Carlisle Maxwell

Jane C. Maxwell, Ph.D., is a Research Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is co-investigator on a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is director of the Center for Excellence in Club Drug Epidemiology of the Gulf Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center. She is a member of the National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Drug Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Community and Border Epidemiology Work Groups. She has been an Australian Commonwealth National Drug Strategy Research Fellow and has received a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant. She formerly was with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

Richard T. Spence

Richard T. Spence, Ph.D., is a Research Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is director of the Gulf Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center and is principal investigator for three research grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He formerly served on the staff of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and also served for 16 years as director of Research and Technology Transfer at the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.