A recent study done by Drug and Alcohol Dependence shows that a higher proportion of ecstasy users are college educated young adults between the ages of 26-34. The study showed that users were less likely to be between the ages of 12-17 and tended to be more between the ages of 26-34.
Although there was an increase in millennial usage, the overall number of ecstasy users has remained relatively constant. Professor Joseph J. Palamar conducted the study and commented
“I’ve been researching ecstasy use since my own party days… Ecstasy has been the most popular ‘club drug’ for decades, yet many national surveys show use has declined, despite the popularity of ‘Molly’. This is one of many recent papers in which I examine trends in ecstasy use to help inform prevention and harm reduction.”
This brings up an intriguing thought. If any of you have been paying attention to recent festival or club restrictions, the minimum age to enter has increased to 18 and many to 21. EDC Vegas went from 18 to 21 and most recently Ultra Music Festival went from no age restrictions to 18. This might have something to do with younger people doing less ecstasy- specifically 42.9%.
One interesting facet to the increase of young adults to doing ecstasy is that the majority of these young adults are single. Over the past few years, millennials have shown to be less likely to get married and more focused on traveling and enjoying themselves- I say that loosely but you get the point. So that may lead to an increase in ecstasy use.
How do we help lower the usage of ecstasy for young adults? Palamar may have an answer:
“Demographics of ecstasy users appear to be changing, and this should be considered when tailoring prevention and harm reduction messages to those who are most likely to use. Most ecstasy users are college-educated and such individuals may not be receptive to typical scare tactics in anti-drug prevention messages.”
However institutions decide to tailor their anti-ecstasy message, let’s hope it starts sooner rather than later. Lord knows millennials don’t need any more speed-bumps in this world.
