High-voltage discharges (5-100 kilovolts) with peak currents in 0.3 to 5 microseconds have been used to produce shock waves in deuterium plasmas. The discharge is struck in a transverse magnetic field and the resultant Lorentz force drives the plasma out of the region of the discharge into a quartz side arm. Velocity measurements of the magnetically driven plasma are discussed in relation to the parameters of the discharge. These measurements indicate that deuterium plasma with ion energies g100 ev/ion at densities g5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{16}$ ions/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ can be produced by this method.