The elderly and the ecstasy: old habits die hard Frances Stewart
March 20, 2011
.THE number of middle-aged users of ecstasy in Australia is rising sharply, as those who started using the drug at dance parties in the 1980s and '90s begin to enter their 30s and 40s.
Ecstasy is the second most commonly used illicit drug in Australia after cannabis, with the number of users rising steadily over the past 10 years.
But underlying the trend is a dramatic increase in the number of older adults using the drug - particularly Generation X, born between 1964 and 1981.
National Drug Strategy Household Surveys between 2001 and 2007 revealed ecstasy use in the 26 to 37 year age bracket for both men and women increased significantly as the ''ravers'' of the 1990s refused to grow old and continued their drug use.
A National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre report found one in three people who have ever used ecstasy continued to use the party drug into their 30s.
Report author Dr Rebecca McKetin said it was clear from the results that Generation X was continuing to take ecstasy as they aged because there was little evidence people began to use ecstasy after the age of 30, or that former users returned to use once they had stopped.
''The increase in the number of older ecstasy users is explained by ecstasy users who started using in the '90s, when the drug first became popular, and who have continued to use into later adulthood,'' she said.
''It's not so much that this drug is a standout in terms of people who continue to use the drug into adulthood.
''It's just that we've had this big wave of use in the '90s, so we are seeing quite unusual levels of use into that older age bracket emerging.''
According to the survey, the use of ecstasy by men in their 30s has risen from 0.6 to 6.3 per cent since 1995. Dr McKetin expects up to 8 per cent of men and women in their 30s and 40s to use ecstasy by 2021.
Drug and Alcohol Research and Training educator Paul Dillon said that especially for women, ecstasy had become socially acceptable.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-e ... rom=smh_ft
Ebeneezer Goode
Ebeneezer Goode
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
What are the effects of ecstasy?
How would ecstasy be utilized to overcome PTSD? I've read some brief articles suggesting an avenue of research in that area, but nothing in detail about how it would work.
Assuming you might have some thoughts on both queries, Gob.
How would ecstasy be utilized to overcome PTSD? I've read some brief articles suggesting an avenue of research in that area, but nothing in detail about how it would work.
Assuming you might have some thoughts on both queries, Gob.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
Well, IMO it can be used in conjunction with conventional therapies, (provided the person being treated has no previous heart problems) much the way anti-depressants are used, but I don't see it as a substitute. PTSD isn't often 'cured'; medications offer treatment of symptoms, but the underlying issues can take years to resolve.
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
If you get good "E" (High content MDMA,) the effects are an amphetamine like rush, a feeling of euphoria, a desire to dance, and a feeling of closeness and empathy with the people around you, it also makes you very horny..bigskygal wrote:What are the effects of ecstasy?
It may help by its empathogen qualities, it breaks down emotional barriers to expressing oneself and feelings of warmth and desire. PTSD sufferers build up emotional walls to self protect, these can become exclusive and cut people off.bigskygal wrote:How would ecstasy be utilized to overcome PTSD? I've read some brief articles suggesting an avenue of research in that area, but nothing in detail about how it would work.
Who, me?bigskygal wrote:Assuming you might have some thoughts on both queries, Gob.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
So in therapeutic use to combat PTSD, would the patient take the ecstasy prior to cognitive therapy sessions? Or on a regular basis in conjunction with a cognitive therapy treatment schedule?
Just wondering if you've run across any literature more specific in detailing the way the drug would be used in a treatment scheme to address PTSD.
Just wondering if you've run across any literature more specific in detailing the way the drug would be used in a treatment scheme to address PTSD.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
I've not got any sources to hand, but I'll have a look when I'm at work.
My thoughts would be a small dose (obviously given to an aware, willing and capable of consent volunteer) prior to a counselling session with a trained psychologist.
My thoughts would be a small dose (obviously given to an aware, willing and capable of consent volunteer) prior to a counselling session with a trained psychologist.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Ebeneezer Goode
Edited to add: In spite of all the trials, I'm not aware of ecstasy being used regularly in practice. As far as I know, the military doesn't proscribe this kind of therapy to service members.An esteemed psychologist specializing in PTSD, Edna Foa, has noted that government-approved drugs like Paxil and Zoloft are effective in only about 20% of PTSD patients. Talk treatment known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) works much better — a majority of PTSD patients show some improvement after a course of CBT sessions. But roughly one-quarter of PTSD patients drop out of CBT, partly because it requires them to discuss searingly painful events.
The basis for using ecstasy in PTSD treatment is that the drug dramatically reduces immediate anxieties, allowing the user to open up emotionally, even as the body and brain are energized by the drug. Clubgoers like this effect because it allows them to party for hours. But Mithoefer's team wondered if this sensation could be harnessed for therapy.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article ... z1HLZzQ2s3