Harm reduction and quitting techniques used by heavy MDMA (ecstasy) users

Abstract

This paper examines the strategies that ex-heavy users of MDMA employed to quit, control, or cut down MDMA use. It uses data from an online qualitative study of the life stories of ex-heavy MDMA users, taking a harm reduction perspective, rather than focusing on the pharmaceutical and problematic aspects of MDMA use. The research applied a mixed-methods approach using an online survey containing open-ended questions directed at self-identified ex-heavy users of MDMA. Participants were 104 ex-heavy users. The relevant data centered around three main themes: ex-users’ stories of quitting/cutting down MDMA, advice for taking MDMA safely, and advice for quitting or cutting down MDMA. Although stopping or cutting down MDMA use was generally described as a natural process over time, ex-users also employed several strategies to quit or cut down MDMA use, including conscious lifestyle changes and distancing themselves from the associated scenes and people. Participants’ advice on taking MDMA safely involved considering the drug, the mind-set, the social and physical environment and ensuring hydration. These data suggest that from ex-heavy users’ perspectives, management of MDMA use is conceptualized as a deliberate and thoughtful process of which most users are in control, rather than a matter of being dependent upon or overpowered by a drug, so harm reduction and other interventions should be structured accordingly.