Teachers

Club drugs are a pharmacologically heterogeneous group of psychoactive drugs that tend to be abused by teens and young adults at bars, nightclubs, concerts, and parties. Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Rohypnol, ketamine, as well as MDMA (ecstasy) and methamphetamine (which are featured in separate DrugFacts) are some of the drugs included in this group.

Khat (pronounced “cot”) is a stimulant drug derived from a shrub (Catha edulis) that is native to East Africa and southern Arabia. The khat plant itself is not scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act; however, because one of the mind-altering chemicals found in it, cathinone, is a Schedule I drug (a controlled substance with no recognized therapeutic use), the Federal Government considers Khat use illegal.

How Is Khat Used?

Leaves of the khat shrub are typically chewed and held in the cheek, like chewing tobacco, to release their stimulant chemicals.

El khat es una droga estimulante deri­vada de un arbusto (Catha edulis) nativo del África oriental y del sur de Arabia. Aunque la planta del khat en sí no está listada en la Ley sobre Sustancias Con­troladas, la catinona, uno de sus compo­nentes químicos que altera la mente, sí está entre las drogas de la Categoría I (sus­tancia controlada que no está reconocida para uso terapéutico), por lo que el go­bierno federal considera su uso ilegal.

Many people do not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. It is often mistakenly assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to change their behavior. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. In fact, because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse, quitting is difficult, even for those who are ready to do so.