Richard Vowles
Week 4: Club Drug Addiction – Richard Vowles
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Week 4: Club Drug Addiction
This week we are assigned a substance abuse disorder based on our name. This post will concentrate on Club Drug Addiction diagnosis. We will explain the diagnostic criteria for diagnosis. We will touch on evidenced-base psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatments. Then we will describe clinical features of the disorder we may find with a patient.
Club Drug Addiction
Club Drug Addiction deals with a specific subset of drugs of abuse that are socially abused and mostly are hallucinogens. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has identified six substances as club drugs: ketamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), flunitrazepam, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). (“Club Drug Addiction”, 2020) These drugs tend to be very popular at bars and dance clubs. They produce an increased response to light and sound. While they can be fun in the moment, they can also be permanently damaging if abused. Long term use of many of these drugs will create chronic depression, psychosis, anxiety issues, or unexpected flash backs.
Diagnostic Criteria
For this disorder the diagnostic criteria are based on the pattern of abuse. There are 4 criteria for a substance abuse addiction. The first criteria Criterion A criteria can be considered to fit within overall groupings of impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological criteria. Impaired control over substance use is the first criteria grouping. (“Substance Abuse Disorder”, 2020) The rest of the criteria deal with how often the patient uses the drug, efforts in obtaining the drug, effects from the drug, how the individual tailors their life around the drug, and the desire to use the drug. It also dives into how the drug affects the patients social obligations. The continued use of the drug after it has begun to damage the patient physically in some way or harmed their life. It touches on tolerance and on withdrawal syndromes.
Clinical Features
The clinical features of these drugs can vary depending on the drug used. The patient may be experiencing euphoria, a rise in core temperature, vision and hearing issues, tachycardia, bradycardia, lethargy, or confusion. GHB can produce dangerous CNS depression, especially if potentiated by alcohol use as well. They also increase the risk of seizures.
Conclusion
Club drugs can be fun. They can produce vivid light and sound hallucinations, make you feel euphoric, make you feel more social than you might normally feel. But like all drugs, they have a dark side and they can be very dangerous. The use of club drugs can be life threatening and it can also increase your chances of being taken advantage of in your altered state which can have its own detrimental effects on the patient.
References
Club Drug Addiction. Psychiatryonline-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org. (2020). Retrieved from https://psychiatryonline-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9781585625048.gg53 .
Substance Abuse Disorder. Dsm-psychiatryonline-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org. (2020). Retrieved from https://dsm-psychiatryonline-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm16#CHDCCGHF.
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