Impact of a transient instability of the ecstasy market on health concerns and drug use patterns in The Netherlands

• Published in: The International journal of drug policy 2012-03, Vol.23 (2), p.134-140
• Main Authors: Brunt, Tibor M, Niesink, Raymond J.M, van den Brink, Wim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cocaine; Drug abuse; Drug policy; Drug use; Drug use patterns; Drugs; Ecstasy; Ecstasy drug; European Union; Hallucinogens - administration & dosage; Hallucinogens - chemistry; Harm Reduction; Health; Health concerns; Health Policy; Health problems; Humans; Internal Medicine; Markets; Medical Education; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine - administration & dosage; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine - chemistry; Netherlands; Netherlands - epidemiology; Prevention; Quality Control; Substance use; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Tablets; Testing; Time Factors; Time series
• ISSN: 0955-3959; 1873-4758
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.05.016

Abstract Background A recent decline in MDMA-like substances in ecstasy tablets has been reported by a number of countries in the European Union. This study describes the instability of the ecstasy market in The Netherlands during 2008 and 2009, and investigates whether this had any impact on drug testing or patterns of drug use. Methods The health concerns of drug users handing in drug samples at drug testing facilities was measured using intervention time-series analysis. In addition, these ecstasy users were asked about changes in their drug use. Results Nationally, the unstable market situation for ecstasy has increased the number of users handing in ecstasy tablets for testing because of health concern. There was no change in the number of users handing in cocaine or gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Respondents reported no major changes in their drug use resulting from the shortage of MDMA-like substances. Conclusions These findings provide further insight in drug policy based on both harm reduction and use reduction. In the event of reduced ecstasy quality, ecstasy users in The Netherlands have increasingly used drug testing as a potential harm reduction tool, rather than changing their patterns of drug use. This might indicate that a transient reduction of drug quality does not serve as a good drug use reduction strategy for ecstasy users.