Estimating the prevalence of Ecstasy use among club rave attendees

摘要

The "rave" phenomenon has been a major element in the resurgence of psychedelic drug use in Western society. Purportedly central to raves is the use of "club drugs" such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "Ecstasy"). To date, however, few studies have examined the prevalence of Ecstasy use and dependence symptoms among rave attendees in the United States. In the current study, self-report drug use information and oral fluid (OF) specimens were collected from a sample of adult "club rave" attendees along the Baltimore-Washington corridor between September and November 2002. Data collection was scheduled between 12 midnight and 5 a.m. Participation rates were high. Of the 192 rave attendees approached, 80% completed the interview. Of those who completed the interview, 82% provided an OF specimen. Twenty-four percent of the respondents with usable specimens (N=103) reported using Ecstasy within the two days preceding the interview, while 30% tested positive for MDMA by OF analysis. Sixteen percent responded affirmatively to at least one of the three dependence symptoms. Self-reported 12-month Ecstasy users were more likely than non-users to be white, and recent users were more likely to have used most other drugs of abuse during the 12 months preceding the interview.