Ecstasy (MDMA) - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

By the mid-1980s, when it was declared illegal, ecstasy had already found users among college students. However, the drug found its most visible place in the rave and club scene of the 1990s. Even though it is illegal, ecstasy use increased dramatically among partygoers and rave attendees. Taking a small pill seems far less extreme than snorting, smoking, or injecting a drug, so many young people thought ecstasy was not dangerous. Peer pressure added to the drug's popularity. In a crowded club, friends could easily persuade other friends to try it.

With increased ecstasy use came increased information on how the drug behaves, its side effects, and its dangers. This information seems to have filtered into the population of ecstasy users—and those who might consider using it. According to the 2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, ecstasy use peaked among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders around the year 2000 and has since sharply declined for all of those age groups. The 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) likewise reported a decrease in repeat use between 2002 and 2003, as well as a decrease in the number of first-time users, from 1.8 million in 2002 to 1.1 million in 2003. Young people also reported that the drug became harder to find than it was in the past. M. J. Ellenhorn, in Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning, wrote: "Desirable effects begin to change with each successive dose: freshmen love it, sophomores like it, juniors are ambivalent, and seniors are afraid of it."

Whatever the cause, from legal crackdowns on raves to word of mouth, ecstasy use began to decline in 2003.