1. OTC and Prescription Drug Abuse Slideshow Pictures
2. Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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For people in the earlier stages of club drug use (having access, but not having yet used a club drug), preventive measures are used. Therefore, limiting access to any drugs and teaching the individual how to recognize and avoid drugs in night clubs are important. Also, addressing any risk factors of the potential club drug consumer or family and optimal parental supervision of youth and expression regarding parental expectations are often recommended. The approach to those who have experimented with club drugs should not be minimized by mental health professionals, since infrequent use can progress to the more serious stages of regular drug use if not addressed. Therefore, professionals recommend that the club drug-consuming individual be thoroughly educated about the effects and risks of drugs, that fair but firm limits be set on the use of any drugs, and that the user be referred for brief counseling, a self-help group, and/or family support group. People who have progressed to the more advanced stages of substance abuse and dependence are typically treated intensively, using a combination of the medical, individual, and familial interventions already described.

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