Drugs and the dance music scene: a survey of current drug use patterns among a sample of dance music enthusiasts in the UK

Winstock, Adam; Griffiths, Paul; Stewart, Duncan

doi:10.1016/s0376-8716(00)00215-5

Cited by 244 publications

(231 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Among human users, during a given night of drug taking, a consumption of two to three 60-150 mg (Kirsch 1996;Wolf et al 1995;Cole et al 2002) ecstasy pills is typical. Some users may of course consume more pills, but less than 10% of human MDMA users are exposed to the drug more frequently than once per week (Winstock et al 2001). Thus, on its face, the widely used "binge dosing" procedure in laboratory primates seems quite unlike the typical drug exposure pattern observed in humans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinforcing effects of methylenedioxy amphetamine congeners in rhesus monkeys: are intravenous self-administration experiments relevant to MDMA neurotoxicity?

Fantegrossi

2006

Psychopharmacology

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Rationale: Many animal models relevant to the persistent effects of drugs of abuse necessitate the application of interspecies dose scaling procedures to approximate drug administration regimens in humans, but drug self-administration procedures differ in that they allow animal subjects to control their own drug intake. Objectives: This report reviews the reinforcing effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), its enantiomers, and several structural analogs in rhesus monkeys, paying particular attention to the pharmacological mechanisms of such reinforcing effects, the development of structure activity relationships among these compounds, the stability of MDMA self-administration behavior over time, and the persistent effects of selfadministered MDMA on monoamines. Results: The methylenedioxy amphetamine congeners MDMA, 3, 4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, N-ethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, and N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine function as reinforcers in rhesus monkeys, maintaining self-administration behavior greater than that engendered by contingent saline but less than that engendered by traditional psychostimulants. These findings are remarkable as structurally distinct serotonergic hallucinogen-like drugs do not maintain reliable selfadministration in laboratory animals. During prolonged MDMA self-administration, MDMA-maintained responding progressively weakens, and MDMA eventually fails to maintain significant self-administration. The neurochemical correlates of this effect have not yet been identified. Conclusions: Procedures in which MDMA and related compounds are self-administered can be established in rhesus monkeys. These techniques can be used to engender contingent MDMA exposure without resorting to controversial methods of interspecies dose scaling. As such, further application of self-administration methods may provide important new insights into the persistent effects of MDMA on brain and behavior in nonhuman primates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinforcing effects of methylenedioxy amphetamine congeners in rhesus monkeys: are intravenous self-administration experiments relevant to MDMA neurotoxicity?

Fantegrossi

2006

Psychopharmacology

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“…These psychopathological disturbances are probably a consequence of the long-term neurochemical changes induced by the drug (Reneman et al 2000;Cowan et al 2003;Daumann et al 2005). Ecstasy abuse usually takes place at crowded and warm dance clubs and raves in the context of multiple drug consumption; alcohol and cannabis being the most common drugs used in combination with ecstasy (Schifano et al 1998;Winstock et al 2001;Plan Nacional sobre Drogas 2004). Around 90% of ecstasy users take ethanol; over 70% of these users also often drink alcohol at hazardous levels (Winstock et al 2001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecstasy abuse usually takes place at crowded and warm dance clubs and raves in the context of multiple drug consumption; alcohol and cannabis being the most common drugs used in combination with ecstasy (Schifano et al 1998;Winstock et al 2001;Plan Nacional sobre Drogas 2004). Around 90% of ecstasy users take ethanol; over 70% of these users also often drink alcohol at hazardous levels (Winstock et al 2001). Chronic or excessive alcohol consumption leads to permanent brain damage in both humans and experimental animals and to the impairment of cognitive functions such as learning and memory (Pfefferbaum et al 1998;White 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Binge ethanol administration enhances the MDMA-induced long-term 5-HT neurotoxicity in rat brain

et al. 2006

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Rationale Ecstasy abuse commonly occurs in hot, overcrowded environments in combination with alcohol. Around 90% of ecstasy users take ethanol; over 70% of these users also often drink alcohol at hazardous levels. Objectives We wished to examine whether binge ethanol administration enhanced the long-lasting 5-HT neurotoxicity induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in rats maintained at high ambient temperature and the role of acetaldehyde. Materials and methods Rats were treated with a 4-day ethanol regimen leading to plasma ethanol levels of around 450 mg/dl. On day 5, rats were placed at 30°C and administered MDMA (5 mg/kg). Rectal temperature and hydroxyl radical formation were measured immediately before and up to 6 h after MDMA. 5-HT concentration and 5-HT transporter density were determined 7 days later. A group of rats received cyanamide (50 mg/kg) on days 1 and 3 of the 4-day-ethanol inhalation. Results In ethanol treated rats, MDMA produced a hyperthermic response similar to that observed in controls but enhanced the loss of 5-HT concentration and 5-HT transporter density in the hippocampus. Cyanamide elevated the plasma acetaldehyde concentration fivefold to sevenfold, reduced the MDMA-induced hyperthermia and increased the neuronal damage with neurotoxicity also appearing in the cortex. MDMA increased hydroxyl radical production in the hippocampus, the effect being more marked in rats pre-exposed to ethanol.Conclusions Binge ethanol administration enhances the MDMA-induced long-term 5-HT neurotoxicity by a mechanism not related to changes in acute hyperthermia but probably involving hydroxyl radical formation. The magnitude of this effect is more pronounced after increasing plasma acetaldehyde levels by aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibition.

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“…Indeed, poly-drug use appears to be the norm for ecstasy users, with up to 93% of ecstasy users falling into this category (Schifano et al, 2003;Smart and Ogborne, 2000;Topp et al, 1999;Turner et al, 2003;Winstock et al, 2001). Cannabis is the illicit drug most commonly co-used with ecstasy, presumably because of its overall high popularity and also its reputed effect of reducing the unpleasant aftereffects (Topp et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An Australian survey (Topp et al, 1999) reported that 45% of MDMA users took cannabis concomitantly with MDMA, and 64% used cannabis when 'coming down' from MDMA. Winstock et al (2001) reported 82% of MDMA users in the UK using cannabis both concomitantly with ecstasy and to 'come down'. Cannabis itself is the most commonly used illicit drug in the western world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-administration of THC and MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) Synergistically Disrupts Memory in Rats

Young

McGregor

Mallet

2005

Neuropsychopharmacol

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3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy') and cannabis are two of the most commonly used illicit drugs in the western world, and are often used in combination. Very little research has examined their effect on cognitive function or behavior when combined. The present study used a double Y-maze task to examine the acute effect of MDMA and D 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the principal psychoactive ingredient of cannabis) on mnemonic function in rats, at a range of doses representative of common human use. Experiment 1 (low doses) examined the effect of 0.25 mg/kg THC and 1.25 mg/kg MDMA alone and together. At these doses MDMA or THC given alone had no effect on working memory, but the co-administered drugs significantly disrupted working memory. Experiment 2 (medium doses) examined the effect of 0.5 mg/kg THC and 2.5 mg/kg MDMA given alone or together. At these doses THC, but not MDMA, impaired working memory. Although MDMA alone had no effect, it exacerbated the impairment due to THC when the drugs were co-administered. Experiment 3 (high doses) examined the effects of 1 mg/kg THC and 5 mg/kg MDMA alone and together. Both drugs significantly impaired memory when given alone, although the impairment due to MDMA was less than that caused by THC. When co-administered at these doses, the drugs caused a major disruption of behavior and this precluded ascribing a mnemonic cause to poor performance on the double Y-maze task. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate a synergistic disruption of working memory by acute co-administration of THC and MDMA.

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Drugs and the dance music scene: a survey of current drug use patterns among a sample of dance music enthusiasts in the UK

Cited by 244 publications

References 35 publications

Reinforcing effects of methylenedioxy amphetamine congeners in rhesus monkeys: are intravenous self-administration experiments relevant to MDMA neurotoxicity?

Reinforcing effects of methylenedioxy amphetamine congeners in rhesus monkeys: are intravenous self-administration experiments relevant to MDMA neurotoxicity?

Binge ethanol administration enhances the MDMA-induced long-term 5-HT neurotoxicity in rat brain

Co-administration of THC and MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) Synergistically Disrupts Memory in Rats

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