Addiction
March 24, 2006
Chelsea A. Baylen, Harold Rosenberg
214 citations
A review of 24 studies on the acute subjective effects of MDMA/ecstasy identified a set of effects consistently reported across multiple investigations. The most common effects were emotional (anxiety, depression, closeness, fear, euphoria, calmness) and somatic (nausea/vomiting, bruxism, muscle aches/headache, sweating, numbness, body temperature changes, fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, increased energy). Only one sexual effect (sexual arousal), one cognitive effect (confused thought), one sensory-perceptual effect (visual changes), one sleep-related effect (sleeplessness), and one appetite-related effect (decreased appetite) were reported in five or more studies. Three factors—time since ingestion, dose level, and gender—influence the acute subjective experience.
Drug Science Policy and Law
January 1, 2017
Alan K. Davis, Harold Rosenberg
22 citations
Both recreational and problematic MDMA/ecstasy users could benefit from harm reduction interventions. A web-based survey assessed how often 104 American and 80 British ecstasy users employed 19 self-initiated harm reduction strategies over two months. At least 75% of participants used 11 of the 19 strategies at least once, regardless of country or frequency of use. When differences occurred, larger proportions of Americans used the strategies. Many less-used strategies are not applicable every time. Testing ecstasy for MDMA, other stimulants, and adulterants is recommended for all users, as it is not a diverted pharmaceutical of known quality.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 1, 2015
Alan K. Davis, Harold Rosenberg
15 citations
People who persistently use ecstasy without being addicted may have a passionate attachment to the activity. In a community sample of ecstasy users, both obsessive and harmonious passion scores were linked to lower self-efficacy to refuse the drug and greater use of ecstasy to cope with worries. Obsessive passion was partially associated with more frequent use, more lifetime uses, and more pills consumed per occasion, whereas harmonious passion was not tied to those consumption measures. The modified Passion Scale could supplement assessments of the psychology behind ecstasy use.