Dinosaur Girls, Candy Girls, and Trinity: Voices of Taiwanese Club Drug Users

• NCJ Number: 224556
• Journal: Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: 2008 Pages: 237-257
• Author(s): Kit-Sang Leung; Jih-Heng Li; Wen-Ing Tsay; Catina Callahan; Shu-Fen Liu; Jui Hsu; Lee Hoffer; Linda B. Cottler
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 21 pages
• Grant Number(s): N01DA-4-47739
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and culturally specific issues pertaining to Taiwanese club drug users and to inform the design and implementation of a community-based drug use survey.

Abstract

Several significant findings were consistent with results obtained from other club drug studies: (1) young people were reported to be the main customers in the club drug market of Taiwan; (2) academic competence and performance were found to be significant predictors of students’ use of Ecstasy; and (3) the prevalence of substance use in vocational training school students was found to be higher than that among students of other schools. Several original findings include: (1) Taiwanese club drug users developed a specific polydrug use sequence called Trinity (Ecstasy, ketamine, and marijuana); (2) drug testing methods in Western societies, which include drug testing kits that can be bought anonymously, are not available in Taiwan; and (3) peer pressure was not recognized as a main reason for drug use. These findings offer a first step in understanding club drug use patterns among an understudied, hidden, and vulnerable population. In Taiwan, where methamphetamine use has accelerated since the early 1990s, the introduction of rave culture and club drugs in the mid-1990s has aggravated the drug problem. This is the first study of the voices of non-detainee club drug users in Taiwan. The primary goal of talking to drug users themselves was met. The second goal was focused on modifying assessments for later phases of a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded club drug study in Taiwan. Focus group discussions obtained information about drug use experience, attitudes, and beliefs pertaining to Taiwanese club drug users. It also explored the potential recruitment strategies that would facilitate the implementation of large scale epidemiologic studies. Tables and references