Ecstasy (MDMA): effects and patterns of use reported by users in São Paulo

OBJECTIVE: As there are no studies about the use of ecstasy in Brazil, our aim was to identify the effects and patterns of use of this substance among users in the city of São Paulo. METHODS: Subjects were recruited through the snowball technique. Fifty-two subjects of both genders who had been using ecstasy frequently and recently were interviewed. The instrument was a self-reported and anonymous questionnaire. RESULTS: The sample's mean age was 24 years, mostly composed by single, college graduated middle-class subjects. Among the interviewed users, 61.6 percent used ecstasy at least once per week and 50 percent of them took one pill per episode of use and 46 percent more than one. Drug taking was usually performed in company of several people (63 percent) in contexts related to night leisure, such as rave parties (78.8 percent), dancing clubs (69.2 percent) and parties (53.8 percent). Ecstasy pills were mainly purchased from friends or acquaintances in order to favor a dancing mood in those places. Most subjects used ecstasy associated to other psychoactive drugs (93.3 percent), mainly Cannabis, followed by tobacco and LSD. The effects attributed to ecstasy were mainly positive. DISCUSSION: The use of ecstasy in São Paulo has had a recreational pattern quite similar to those described in previous studies. The assessment of the use of ecstasy as positive also agrees with the findings of the literature

Idéias e imagens suscitadas em estudantes universitários numa pesquisa sobre drogas: uma contribuiçäo ao trabalho preventivo / Ideas and images evoked by university students about drugs: a contribution to prevention

Analisa o conteúdo de comentários feitos em um questionário aplicado, em estudo anterior, a 1069 universitários da cidade de Säo Paulo sobre uso de drogas psicoativas em geral, e da maconha em particular. Divide os textos de cada comentário em segmentos, conforme conteúdo; classifica esses segmentos em categorias e sub-categorias para tabulaçäo e análise. Os estudantes que fizeram comentários correspondem a 40//dos que já haviam experimentado maconha pelo menos uma vez na vida (usuários) e a 23//dos que nunca haviam utilizado a droga. Detecta 3 categorias de conteúdo: versando sobre o problema das drogas (60//dos comentários), a pesquisa em si (35//) e comentários irrelevantes (5//). Conclui que as diferenças encontradas entre a imagem da droga para usuários e näo-usuários da maconha representam um contínuo entre extremos de opiniöes, idéias e imagens que o tema suscita e que se originam de informaçöes veiculadas pela família, escola, meios de comunicaçäo e especialistas, interagindo com a experiência pessoal. A aceitaçäo manifesta da pesquisa aumenta sua confiabilidade e provavelmente reflete o fato de ter sido tomada como instrumento de prevençäo e näo repressäo. Discute como o teor dos comentários pode oferecer subsídios a trabalhos de prevençäo.