Sad Story

On a Friday afternoon in February 1999, five teenage girls in a town near Philadelphia were out shopping for prom dresses. They were best friends who had just finished their midterms and headed out to shop. Before the afternoon turned into evening, all five were dead. Their car had spun out of control and crashed. When the story first broke, it seemed that the driver had been driving too fast and lost control. But after some investigation, the medical conclusion was that the driver had been inhaling computer cleaner and, once high, lost control of the car. The story is sad, but it is true. It makes some people wonder. Why did they need to get high? Shopping for prom dresses with your best friends should be so much fun. You may think that you know a lot about drugs and alcohol, including inhalants. You've probably had lots of substance abuse education in school. Test your knowledge with this true-false quiz. Talk about your answers with your friends. The answers follow at the end of the questions.

Quiz

1. Sniffing or huffing household products is just a quick, harmless head rush or high. The products are legal so it must be safe.	True	False
2. You can't die from taking cocaine once.	True	False
3. Alcohol is a legal substance. Since it's legal, it must be safe. It's not a drug.	True	False
4. No one's going to die if they take a club drug like roofies (Rohypnol), liquid ecstacy (GHB - gamma hydroxy butytrate) or ecstasy (MDMA - Methylenedioxy methamphetamine).	True	False
5. Ecstasy (MDMA) isn't harmful, it just allows people to relax and enjoy each other more.	True	False
6. You'd surely know if you had been raped, even if it was a drug-facilitated rape or sexual assault.	True	False
7. You'd be able to see, smell or taste any drug that someone might put into your drink.	True	False
8. Rohypnol is related to Valium, but is much stronger.	True	False
9. If you stick to beer or wine, you'll be able to drink more without getting drunk.	True	False
10. Someone who willingly takes a drug such as Rohypnol or GHB can still be a rape victim.	True	False

Answers

1. False. Inhalant use can cause a number of physical and emotional problems, and even one-time use can result in death. Prolonged use of inhalants has been associated with irreversible brain damage. Inhalant use can also lead to careless, dangerous and (as in the case of the 5 Philadelphia teens in the story) deadly consequences.

2. False. Coke can kill you because it can stop your heart, even if you use it only once. Some people are especially sensitive to this drug and it's impossible to predict who will react this way. Teens are more likely to have severe reactions than adults.

3. False. Use or possession of alcohol is illegal in Massachusetts for any person under 21. Alcohol is a depressant drug. It slows down your body functions, causes confusion, decreased alertness, poor coordination, blurred vision and drowsiness. Worst of all, too much alcohol, taken quickly, can result in alcohol poisoning and death.

4. False. In September 1996, Thelma Rascon, a 15 year-old girl, died in El Paso, Texas, from an overdose of Rohypnol after being sexually assaulted by five men. She and a friend were given the drug at a party at a hotel. The girls took it voluntarily but did not know what it was. Thelma was found dead the morning after the attack. The friend, who was also assaulted, was hospitalized but survived the attack. On March 14, 2000, in Detroit, Michigan, Joshua Cole 19, Daniel Brayman, 18 and Nicholas Holtschlag, 18, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter (a crime for which there is up to a 20 year state prison term in Massachusetts) in the date-rape drug death of a 15 year old girl. The girl, Samantha Reid, had been drugged with GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate).

5. False. According to scientific research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who take MDMA (ecstasy) may be risking brain damage that remains long after the high has worn off--and may even be permanent! Beliefs about MDMA are like claims, that proved to be untrue, made about LSD in the 1950's and 1960's. Many of the risks the MDMA user faces are similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine. Combining MDMA (ecstasy) with Rohypnol (roofies) can lead to heart failure, coma and death.

6. False. Rohypnol and GHB result in loss of consciousness and memory, and the effects are increased when mixed with alcohol. Survivors often do not remember the attack itself but wake up only knowing that something is very, very wrong.

7. False. GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate) is a colorless and odorless drug. It is often mixed with alcohol or fruit drinks to mask its salty taste. Rohypnol is odorless and tasteless and dissolves easily in carbonated beverages.

8. True. Rohypnol (chemical name flunitrazepam) is related to Valium, but is ten times more potent than Valium. The effects of rohypnol, which can include sedation, memory impairment and loss of consciousness, can occur within just a few minutes after ingestion and can last up to 8 hours or longer.

9. False. One beer, one glass of wine, one shot of whiskey each have about the same amount of alcohol. A 12 oz. beer, 5 ozs. of wine and 1 l/2 ozs. of 80 proof liquor are equally intoxicating.

10. True. While there are many unsuspecting victims of Designer drugs (also known as ), there are also sexual assault survivors who knowingly and willingly ingest the drug alone or in connection with alcohol and other drugs. This person can be a rape survivor. A person may know what she is ingesting, yet cannot give valid legal consent to intercourse or other sexual contact while incapacitated by the drug. Survivors of drug-facilitated rape and sexual assault are robbed both of the ability to resist the assault and of the memory of what happened to them. Because of the properties of these drugs, attackers are sometimes able to commit their crimes and remain undetected. But, a person who is convicted of drug-facilitated rape is subject to harsher penalties under Massachusetts law. Are the possible consequences of using or abusing alcohol or other drugs worth it?