Club drugs is a term that encompasses those drugs commonly abused within the context of the club and rave scenes which have developed over the past decade in the United States and Europe. Club drugs are a diverse group in terms of pharmacology, psychological effect, and toxicity. They form a unified grouping because of the context in which they are used, the clubs and raves that define turn-of-the-century youth culture. Because of the diversity and pleasure seeking inherent to the club world, no list of club drugs can pretend to be comprehensive but most lists include drugs like MDMA, GHB, KETAMINE, ROHYPNOL, METHAMPHETAMINE and LSD. Most of these drugs are perceived by users as relatively benign compared to "older" drugs like COCAINE. As might be expected, this perception is often not borne out in reality.

Many observers of the history of drug use in the United States have...