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The effects of any drug, legal, prescribed or illegal vary depending on where you are, who you are with, what you have eaten, the time of day, how you are feeling, other medications you have taken and how physically fit you are. If you are a small person then you need to be aware that the effects of substances such as alcohol can be different in people with lower body weight compared to people with a greater body weight. If you buy or are given an illegal drug, you can't be sure exactly what's in it. That means it is hard to know exactly how you will be affected. Two pills that look identical can produce quite different effects. If you are feeling anxious, depressed or afraid, then using drugs - even alcohol, is likely to make you feel worse. The following information is basic information about a range of ecstasy and other related drugs. More detailed information about chemical composition can be found at the websites listed on our Links page.

AMPHETAMINES Street Names: Speed, fast, goey, meth, ice, shabu, crystal meth, uppers Amphetamines belong to a group of stimulants that includes amphetamine and methylamphetamine. Although there are some chemical differences between amphetamine substances detectable through chemical analysis, even experienced users have difficulty in distinguishing between specific amphetamine substances. Amphetamines are stimulants, which means they speed up the central nervous system by producing effects similar to the body’s naturally occurring hormone, adrenalin. ECSTASY (MDMA) Street Names:E, xtc, Eccies, love drug, pingers, bickies Ecstasy is the commercial name for MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine). It is used in a range of social contexts but is most typically used by young people at clubs, raves and dance parties. Many ecstasy users view their use as a lifestyle choice rather than a drug use choice. GHB (Gamma-hydroxybutyrate) + GBL, and 1,4B Common Names: G GHB is a depressant drug that if taken in high doses can result in a short sleep that looks like a coma. Sometimes breathing is depressed. Occasionally GHB causes vomiting which can be life threatening if the person is unconscious. KETAMINE Street Names: Special K, Kit Kat, Vitamin K, ket, K Ketamine hydrochloride is a synthetic veterinary anaesthetic. Although ketamine is not very prevalent in Australia, its use appears to be increasing in popularity in the nightclub and dance culture. LSD Street Names: Acid, tabs, blotters LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) is a hallucinogenic drug that distorts perception, mood and thought. It is a synthetic chemical derived from the naturally occurring fungus, ergot that is commonly found in grain crops such as rye. NITRITES Street names: Poppers, Amyl A clear or straw coloured liquid that comes in a small bottle or tube. The name "poppers" comes from the original medicinal use of amyl nitrites in which small glass capsules were crushed creating a popping sound. PMA Street Names: PMA, Death, Dr Death PMA (para-methoxyamphetamine) is an amphetamine-type drug very similar to MDMA although far more potent and extremely dangerous. There have been recorded deaths in locations in Queensland, South Australia and in various countries such as the UK, Canada and the USA.

References

1. Alcohol and Other Drugs Program, Public Health Division (1999) Amphetamines. Health Department, Western Australia
2. Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (2004) Australian Illicit Drug Report 2002-03 Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra
3. Australian Drug Foundation (2000) How Drugs Affect You: Amphetamines
4. Australian Drug Foundation (2000) How Drugs Affect You: Ecstasy
5. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2004) National Drug Strategy Household Survey www.aihw.gov.au/publications/ [Accessed May 2005]
6. British Broadcasting Commission (2003) www.bbc.co.uk/crime/drugs/amylnitrite.shtml
7. Caldicott, David G.E., Edwards, Nicholas A., Kruys A., Kirkbride K. Paul, Dims D. Noel, Bynard, Roger W., Prior Michael and Irvine Rod J. (2003) Dancing with "Death": P-Methoxyamphetamine Overdose and Its Acute Management. Journal of Toxicology CLINICAL TOXICITY 41:2, pp 143 - 154.
8. Campbell, A. (2001) The Australian Illicit Drug Guide Black Inc. Melbourne
9. DanceSafe http://dancesafe.org [Accessed July 2005]
10. Dillon P, Copeland J, Jansen K (2001) Patterns of use and harms associated with non-medical ketamine use http://notes.med.unsw/edu/au/ndarc.nsf/websiite/Publications.reports.
11. Drugs Misuse Act 1986, (Queensland)
12. Drugscope (2000) Amphetamines www.drugscope.org.uk/druginfo/
13. Drugscope (2001) Ketamine www.drugscope.org.uk/druginfo/
14. Health Department of Western Australia (1999) Ecstasy
15. Kinner S. and Fischer J. (2005) Queensland Drug Trends 2004 – Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Sydney.
16. Ministry of Health (1999) Guidelines for Safe Dance Parties. Ministry of Health, Manatu Hauora, Wellington, NZ.
17. Ministry of Health (1999) Dance Party Goers … What you should know.
18. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (2000) Club Drugs University of NSW, Sydney
19. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (1999) Drugs: Just the facts (2nd ed) NSW Department of Education and Training
20. Queensland Police Service (2000) On the street: Illicit drugs from a street perspective
21. Stafford J, Degenhardt E, Black E, Bruno R, Buckingham K, Fetherston J, Jenkinson R, Kinner S, Moon C and Weekley J. (2005) Australian Drug Trends 2004 NDARC Monograph No 55. National Drug and Alcohol Resource Centre, Sydney
22. The Vaults of Erowid http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml [Accessed June 2005]
23. Topp L, Dillon P and Hando J. Ecstasy: Facts and fiction. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of NSW.