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Specific harm reduction strategies employed by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetmine/ ecstasy users in the United States and the United Kingdom

Alan K. Davis, Harold Rosenberg

Drug Science, Policy and Law 2017 DOI: 10.1177/2050324517711069 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 184
Population Lower-frequency and higher-frequency ecstasy users in the United States and United Kingdom
Intervention other stimulants
Duration Two-month assessment period
Topics MDMA
Keywords Harm reduction Residence Psychological intervention Recreational drug use Demography Public health
Citations 22
Key findings At least 75% of participants used 11 of 19 harm reduction strategies at least once, regardless of country or frequency of use, with Americans more likely to use strategies when differences occurred.

Abstract

Both recreational and problematic MDMA/ecstasy users could benefit from employing harm reduction interventions intended to preserve health and prevent negative consequences. To evaluate whether use of such interventions varied by country of residence and frequency of ecstasy use, we used web-based surveys to assess how often 104 lower-frequency and higher-frequency American ecstasy users and 80 lower-frequency and higher-frequency British ecstasy users employed each of 19 self-initiated harm reduction strategies when they used ecstasy during a two-month period. Several significant differences notwithstanding, at least 75% of participants had used 11 of the 19 strategies one or more times during the two-month assessment period, regardless of whether they lived in the United States or United Kingdom and whether they were lower-frequency or higher-frequency ecstasy users. When proportions of American and British participants using a strategy differed significantly, it was typically larger proportions of Americans using those strategies. Many of the less frequently employed strategies are not applicable on every occasion of ecstasy use. However, because ecstasy is not a diverted pharmaceutical of known quality/potency, testing for the presence of MDMA, other stimulants, and adulterants is a strategy that everyone should employ, regardless of country of residence or how frequently one consumes ecstasy.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on MDMA, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug Recreational Ecstasy users recruited via snowball peer network 1992 Cross-sectional survey n = 100
Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls 1999 Cross-sectional association study n = 20
Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students 2006 Cross-sectional survey n = 149
Patterns of recreational drug use at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland Drug users at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, aged 16-47, 80% between 18 and... 2001 Cross-sectional survey n = 122
Acute, sub‐acute and long‐term subjective consequences of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) consumption in 430 regular users Regular MDMA users 2003 Cross-sectional study n = 466

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