Substance Use & Misuse
January 1, 2005
Tom F. M. Ter Bogt, Rutger C. M. E. Engels
144 citations
At Dutch dance parties in 2001-2002, partygoers used MDMA mainly for its energetic and euphoric effects. Greater MDMA use was linked to hardcore and trance/mainstream party styles, motivations of euphoria, sexiness, self-insight, and sociability (negatively), and to gender, lower education, and friends' MDMA use. Women reported more acute negative effects—depression, confusion, loss of control, suspiciousness, edginess, nausea, dizziness—than men. Women motivated to cope with problems by using MDMA were particularly at risk. For men, polydrug use and motivation to conform to friends were associated with negative effects.
Substance Use & Misuse
January 1, 2005
Karen Mcelrath
102 citations
Most MDMA users report feelings of emotional closeness without a desire for penetrative sex, but some, especially gay and bisexual females, use the drug specifically for sexual enhancement. Among those who do have sex during MDMA episodes, sexual risk taking—such as having multiple partners and not using condoms—is common. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 98 current and former MDMA users conducted in 1997 and 1998. Most had used MDMA in the prior six months, and many had used it 100 times or more.
Substance Use & Misuse
March 1, 2010
Ornella Corazza, Fabrizio Schifano
43 citations
Recreational ketamine use may trigger experiences resembling near-death experiences (NDEs). In a sample of 50 ketamine misusers who scored at least 7 on the Greyson NDE Scale, 90% reported altered time perception, 88% felt detached from their own body, and 76% experienced peace or joy. Most NDEs occurred during the first few uses, and participants reported an average lifetime intake of 140 occasions. The sample was self-selected, nonrandomized, and small, but the findings suggest a link between recreational ketamine and NDE-like states.
Substance Use & Misuse
January 1, 2008
Sarah Riley, Graham Blackman
36 citations
A 2004 survey of 174 magic mushroom users in Edinburgh and Bristol, UK, found that consumption was infrequent but intense: 47% used 4-12 times per year, with an average dose of 12 g per session. Users reported laughter, hallucinations, altered perspective (41-74%), and feeling closer to nature (49%). Negative experiences included paranoia (35%) and anxiety (32%). Use occurred within a wider recreational drug and alcohol culture. Focus groups aided interpretation. The authors recommend future research into negative experiences and discuss implications for policy and harm reduction.
Substance Use & Misuse
March 11, 2014
Sam Himelstein, Stephen Saul, Albert Garcia‐romeu et al.
28 citations
Teaching mindfulness to incarcerated adolescent substance users requires adapting instruction to their developmental stage, trauma histories, and restricted environment. Over one year, interviews with ten adolescents in an urban California detention facility revealed that effective teaching involves building trust, using concrete language, keeping sessions short, and integrating movement. The initial grounded theory emphasizes relationship, relevance, and repetition as core components. The findings suggest that standard mindfulness curricula need modification for this population, and that even within constraints, adolescents can engage with mindfulness practices.
Substance Use & Misuse
October 24, 2020
Balthazar Bazin, David Duroy, Michel Lejoyeux
27 citations
About one in five French medical students (21.5%) had tried MDMA, with use more common among males, those who also used tobacco, cannabis, or other illicit drugs, and those who drank alcohol frequently. Most users took the drug in pill form, primarily at parties or raves. The findings suggest that MDMA experimentation is relatively common in this population and is linked to broader patterns of substance use.
Substance Use & Misuse
April 25, 2022
Dimitri Daldegan‐bueno, Dóra Révész, Paulo Rogério Morais et al.
15 citations
Regular ceremonial use of ayahuasca is associated with lower anxiety, less negative affect, higher intrinsic religiosity, and reduced past-month use of both licit and illicit substances compared to non-regular use. Regular users also reported lower general and physical quality of life. The study compared 101 regular users with 185 non-regular users in Brazil, finding no differences in lifetime drug use between groups after adjusting for sociodemographic factors.
Substance Use & Misuse
July 2, 2013
David Michael Wood, Paul Ivor Dargan
14 citations
Alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT), a novel psychoactive substance available online, became less available and cheaper between March and October 2012. The number of internet sites selling AMT dropped from 44 to 31. Bulk purchases (100 g) were less expensive than recreational-user quantities (100 mg), and overall prices decreased. Internet snapshot surveys provide data that, combined with other sources, offer a fuller understanding of the availability and use of novel psychoactive substances.
Substance Use & Misuse
August 17, 2021
Pravesh Sharma, Kira E. Riehm, Andrea S. Young et al.
3 citations
Adolescent cannabis use and family history of substance use disorders (SUD) each independently predict paranoid and schizotypal personality traits in young adulthood, but preadolescent transmissible liability to SUD does not. The study followed 448 children of men with or without a lifetime SUD history from ages 10-12 to age 19. Cannabis use at age 16 and family SUD history were both linked to higher paranoid and schizotypal symptoms at age 19, with no interactive effect between liability and cannabis use. Paranoid and schizotypal symptoms displayed different dose-dependent sensitivities to cannabis exposure, suggesting distinct pathways not involving behavioral disinhibition.
Substance Use & Misuse
June 5, 2025
Anna Wang, Ryan Athay, Nae Won et al.
2 citations
A survey conducted in 20 US urban cities over a single weekend detected recent use of recreational cannabis, psilocybin, and cocaine. Reported prevalence of these substances varied by region, indicating that prevention messages should be customized for different areas of the country.
Substance Use & Misuse
December 17, 2025
Markus D Moore, Andrew Moore, Saeed K Alzghari
Ibogaine shows promise as a treatment for opioid dependence, but more research is required to evaluate its safety and effectiveness.