In my WIP the main character is 18 years old, she goes to a party and someone gives her a party drug or something (tbd) that gives her a high, but once it wears off I want it to make her really tired, sick, and/or overwhelmed. Do you have any suggestions to what drug I should include and how to describe a traumatic first time high?

Rohypnol was definitely used in that timeframe. Ritalin was being prescribed for ADHD by then, and could have been pilfered from someone. More widely available at that time were amphetamines (a relative of Ritalin), so you could generically go for amphetamine due to similar effects. Ketamine was already being abuse in the club scenes by the early 90's and had been a popular drug of abuse before that. Hopefully, that will cover you and save you some research!

I probably wouldn't use it because it doesn't really fit with my genre and I have family members with addiction, but I can see how to use the sensory focus for other scents and smells.

denise

These are VERY good ideas! Now I need to check and see if all of those would have been easily in use in 1991.

Oh, that sounds very interesting! With that additional detail, here is another suggestion that might work even better. I might consider a club drug, like ketamine, GHB, or rohypnol when she is assaulted. IN general they will make her very docile and compliant. Ketamine would fit with being inside her mind and an expanded view of the world, and depending on the dose, she can have anything from sedation to hallucinations. She may talk to herself or people that are not there. She wouldn't remember the assault. Adding a high dose of an amphetamine-like drug (such as Ritalin) later would send her heart rate high, with something like a cocaine-type high. She would be restless, energetic, talkative (even dance!). Because of delusions and hallucination, she might be talking aloud ( or thinking she is talking to someone else that isn't there). The delusions are often paranoid, so if it fits to have her paranoid that someone is following her or that she is in danger, that would also be a possibility. Ketamine can be injected, or the powder sprinkled on cigarettes or snorted. If ketamine powder is to be put into a drink, it must be a strong flavored drink like orange juice to mask the very bitter taste. Methylphenidate is often in pill form, but some people have crushed them and snorted or injected.

Just some extra ideas!

I'm glad you found it helpful! Good luck with your writing!

Wow. That is quite the variety of scents.