Psychological profile of abstinent recreational Ecstasy (MDMA) users and significance of concomitant cannabis use
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental – December 01, 2001
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Recreational Ecstasy users exhibit significant psychological challenges, with 28 abstinent users showing heightened impulsiveness, anxiety, and psychoticism compared to matched cannabis users and non-users. Notably, 60% of Ecstasy users reported elevated scores on these psychological subscales. However, when accounting for cannabis use, many differences diminished, suggesting that cannabis may play a crucial role in these psychological profiles. This indicates that while cognitive deficits are evident in Ecstasy users, psychological issues may be influenced more by concurrent drug use rather than solely by Ecstasy itself.
Abstract
Abstract The popular recreational drug Ecstasy (3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, and related congeners) is neurotoxic upon central serotonergic systems in animal studies. So far, the most convincing evidence for neurotoxicity‐related functional deficits in humans derives from neurocognitive studies demonstrating dose‐related memory problems in Ecstasy users. The aim of the current investigation was to study the relationship between the psychological profile of recreational Ecstasy users and the patterns of their drug use. Twenty‐eight abstinent recreational Ecstasy users with concomitant use of cannabis only and two equally sized, matched groups of cannabis users and non‐users were administered standardized self‐rating scales for the assessment of psychological problems which are thought to be related to central serotonergic function. Ecstasy users had elevated scores on subscales measuring impulsiveness, anxiety, sensation seeking, somatic complaints, obsessive‐compulsive behavior and psychoticism. Higher scores were associated with both heavier Ecstasy and heavier cannabis use. After controlling for cannabis use, most group differences in psychometric scores no longer achieved statistical significance. The present data are in line with other reports demonstrating a broad range of psychological problems in Ecstasy users. However, the concomitant use of other drugs, specifically cannabis, seems to be crucial in this respect. Therefore, compared with cognitive deficits, psychological problems appear to be less suitable functional indices of Ecstasy‐related neurotoxic damage of central serotonergic systems in humans. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.