This paper discusses motivations for the use of MDMA among young adults in intimate relationships living in resource poor environments, where structural constraints limit potential for economic mobility and impact upon interpersonal relations. Drawing from in-depth interviews with men and women in intimate relationships with one or more partners, we report the range of motivations for MDMA use...
This article examines the role of Ecstasy (MDMA or 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) as a drug used for self-medication and coping with both short- and long-term negative life situations. We show that urban youth who do not have a specific diagnosed mental illness are more likely than those who have been diagnosed and have received treatment to use Ecstasy to cope with both situational stress...
Ecstasy use has spread beyond the rave and club scenes into other arenas of party culture, and from middle-class America to working-class and low-income neighborhoods of large cities. In order to explore ecstasy use among inner city adolescents and young adults, we conducted in-depth interviews with 23 poly-drug users who had used ecstasy, in Hartford, CT. Most users reported positive...
This study suggests that use of embalming fluid as a mind-altering drug has been underreported. Based on a social network recruitment strategy, findings from a study in 2000 of 401 outreach worker-recruited polydrug-involved youth (ages 16-24 years) from the inner city of Hartford, CT indicate widespread (over 80% of study participants had used the drug at least once) and regular use of...