{"title":"Trends in Polydrug Use Among Ecstasy-Related Ambulance Attendances in Melbourne, 2000 to 2009","authors":"Paul McElwee, S. Cogger","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010019","url":null,"abstract":"Data were derived from the Ambo Project, a collaborative project between Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and Ambulance Victoria. The Ambo Project collates information routinely recorded in patient care records by paramedics where the consumption of any drug significantly contributes to the reason for the ambulance attendance. As such, this sample is not representative of all ecstasy users in Melbourne, rather only those who experienced an adverse event from their drug use and who required paramedic care. All ecstasy-related ambulance attendances (N=2,897) from the 2000 to 2009 calendar years were selected for analysis.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"19-19"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68096857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acute and Long-Term Behavioural Effects of MDMA in Adolescent Rats","authors":"E. Remmelink, I. McGregor","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010042","url":null,"abstract":"Acute MDMA, even at low doses, increases social interaction in adult rats [1] while on the long-term its consumption produces a decrease in social interaction, an increase in anxiety and impaired object recognition memory [2, 3]. This study investigated whether MDMA has the same effects in adolescent rats. Additionally, we investigated whether the preference of adolescent rats for MDMA was mediated by social context.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"42-43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Scholey, L. Owen, J. Gates, J. Rodgers, Thomas A Buchanan, T. Heffernan, P. Swan, C. Stough, A. Parrott
{"title":"Is MDMA present in hair samples consistent with reported ecstasy use","authors":"A. Scholey, L. Owen, J. Gates, J. Rodgers, Thomas A Buchanan, T. Heffernan, P. Swan, C. Stough, A. Parrott","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010050","url":null,"abstract":"Our group has conducted several Internet investigations into the biobehavioural effects of recreational use of MDMA (Ecstasy) and other psychosocial drugs [1-5]. They have relied on self-reports of drug use. Here we report a new study examining the relationship between self-reported Ecstasy use and traces of MDMA found in hair samples.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"50-51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing Sleep Disturbance in Ecstasy Users: A Questionnaire Study","authors":"R. Ogeil, S. Rajaratnam, J. Broadbear","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010032","url":null,"abstract":"Ecstasy users have previously reported subjective problems with sleep following use [1, 2], and laboratory studies have demonstrated altered sleep architecture in ecstasy users [3]. The current study examined whether ecstasy contributed to sleep disturbance to a clinically significant level in users in the presence or absence of polydrug use, and determined the extent to which the amount or frequency of reported ecstasy use was associated with sleep complaints.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"32-33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68096591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Fisk, P. Murphy, C. Montgomery, Florentia Hadjiefthyvoulou
{"title":"Modelling the Adverse Effects Associated With Ecstasy (MDMA) Usage","authors":"J. Fisk, P. Murphy, C. Montgomery, Florentia Hadjiefthyvoulou","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010030","url":null,"abstract":"RESULTS Using the total number of adverse effects reported as the dependent variable, significant relationships were found for weeks since last ecstasy use and estimated lifetime ecstasy consumption, these relationships being negative and positive, respectively. Weeks since first ecstasy use and the frequency of its use per week were not related to the total number of adverse effects reported. Additionally, the dependent variable was positively related to the frequency of concurrent alcohol and ecstasy use, daytime sleepiness (i.e. poor sleep quality), anxiety, and level of concern about the adverse effects of ecstasy use. Self ratings of general health were negatively related to the dependent variable. Significant relationships were not found with the number of precautions taken when ecstasy was used, awareness that ecstasy use may have harmful effects, depression, or the concurrent use with ecstasy of amphetamine, cannabis, or cocaine. CONCLUSIONS The results show that the total number of self-reported adverse effects attributed to the use of ecstasy is positively related to lifetime consumption, but inversely related to duration of abstinence from the drug. This latter effect could reflect the return of some neuronal functions to a pre-ecstasy use level [9-10]. Overall duration and frequency of use do not appear to be related to the level of adverse effects reported. The lack of relationship between awareness of ecstasy’s effects and the total of adverse effects reported does not support the assertion that users’ reports of such effects may be magnified in any substantial way by media and other influences [6]. The concurrent use of alcohol, rather than cannabis, with ecstasy may be an important area for future research [4].","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"30-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impaired Consolidation Processes Underlying Ecstasy-Group Deficits in Verbal Memory","authors":"E. Rouse, R. Bruno","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010046","url":null,"abstract":"The study aimed to examine the cognitive mechanisms underlying ecstasy consumer’s impaired performance on verbal list learning tasks [1-5]. This was achieved by comparing levels of forgetting across a related and a nonrelated word list. Forgetting a word that was previously recalled once indicated forgetting at level one, forgetting a word that had been recalled twice is forgetting at level 2, and so on. Thus, a higher frequency of low level forgetting indicates slower memory consolidation, whereas higher levels of forgetting indicate failure to retrieve learnt information [1].","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"46-47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Induced Hyperthermia- The Role of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines","authors":"A. Salem, J. Gordon, M. Hutchinson, R. Irvine","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010048","url":null,"abstract":"Project Background The main MDMA-induced adverse effect is disruption of normal thermoregulation leading to life threatening hyperthermia which is exacerbated by high ambient temperature and linked to chronic neurotoxicity. Although the focus of the majority of research on MDMAinduced loss of thermoregulation has been on brain serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, results obtained from our recent studies suggest an association between microglial activation and MDMA-induced hyperthermia. We have demonstrated that pretreatment with minocycline, an antibiotic with glial attenuating properties, can significantly reduce the severity of MDMA-induced hyperthermia in rats. We have also demonstrated that minocycline’s ability to inhibit MDMA induced hyperthermia is time-dependent process and you need up to three days pre-treatment with minocycline to achieve maximum effects.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"48-49"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Regular Cannabis and Methamphetamine Use on Psychological Distress and Self-Reported Mental Health Among Regular Ecstasy Users","authors":"L. Scott, A. Roxburgh, L. Burns","doi":"10.2174/1874941001104010052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001104010052","url":null,"abstract":"Recent research has shown that large proportions of regular ecstasy users (REU) experience psychological distress, apparently independent of their ecstasy use [1]. It has been suggested that specific drugs, as well as polydrug use alone, may impact on psychological wellbeing among users [2]. There is some evidence that cannabis use is associated with psychological distress among REU [1, 3]. Methamphetamines, commonly used by REU [4], have also been associated with poor mental health outcomes [5]. This study aimed to examine the contribution of regular cannabis or methamphetamine use to levels of psychological distress and self-reported mental health problems among REU.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"52-53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68097418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Compulsory Commitment to Care of Substance Misusers – A Worldwide Comparative Analysis of the Legislation","authors":"Magnus Israelsson, A. Gerdner","doi":"10.2174/1874941001003010117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001003010117","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores the worldwide use of compulsory commitment to care (CCC) at the end of the 20 th century and evaluates the implementation of WHO recommendations since the 1960s. Based on three WHO reports, the legislation of 90 countries and territories are analyzed, and types as well as predictors of such legislation are analyzed in multivariate models from country characteristics. Laws on CCC for alcohol and drug misusers are common all over the world; more than 80 percent of the countries and territories studied have such laws. The majority use civil commitment - acute or rehabilitative - in accordance with welfare logic, while a large minority still uses commitment under criminal law, based on a moral logic. Civil CCC is positively related to strong economies or having been part of the Soviet legal system. CCC under criminal law is negatively related to the same factors.","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"3 1","pages":"117-130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68096677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opiate Addicts` Attitudes Towards Heroin Prescription~!2009-07-31~!2010-05-28~!2010-07-14~!","authors":"N. Scherbaum, F. Rist","doi":"10.2174/1874941001003010109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874941001003010109","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":89289,"journal":{"name":"The open addiction journal","volume":"3 1","pages":"109-116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68096666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}