NCJ Number
180891
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: July 1999 Pages: 215-225
Date Published
July 1999
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A self-administered questionnaire completed by 125 people recruited in Nottingham, England, by convenience sampling and the key informant access method collected data on harm-reduction practices applied by users of dance drugs such as ecstasy, as well as the extent of use of both dance drugs and prescribed or over-the-counter medication.
Abstract
The study was prompted by recognition that primary prevention efforts based on individualism and victim blaming are unlikely to have much impact on older, recreational, nondependent users of illicit drugs at dances. A more realistic approach is the secondary prevention concept called harm reduction drug education. The study used data collected between March and May 1997. More than two-thirds of the participants were male, 39 percent were ages 21-25 years, 30 percent were age 26 or older, and 20 percent were 20 years old or less. Seventy-two percent were single or co-habiting. Fifty-three percent were employed; 22 percent were students. The majority of participants, especially females, reported using harm reduction practices. The most popular of these actions were drinking water and "chilling out." Just under half the participants had taken dance drugs with other prescribed or over-the-counter medicine. Females were significantly likely to mix illicit and licit drugs. Findings suggested that community pharmacists might be an appropriate resource through which to provide accurate information, although the legality of such an intervention by pharmacists would require analysis by their profession's statutory governing body. The findings that almost two-thirds of the participants do not anticipate changing their drug-taking behavior, and that 10 percent intend to increase their use of dance drugs provide an incentive to act quickly. Figure, tables, and 27 references