An overview of the 2012 EDRS: Ecstasy returns and the Emerging class of drugs

ƒIn Australia, preference for ecstasy has begun to return (32% in 2012 versus 27% in 2011). Alcohol has overtaken cocaine as the third drug of choice. ƒƒ Whilst the most popular form of ecstasy consumed on a regular basis is pills (tablet form), there has been an increasing trend in the use of powder and the capsule form and more recently MDMA crystals or Ecstasy rock.

Market characteristics saw ecstasy price as stable at a national price of $25 per pill; there was an increase in the ease of availability in 2012 with less REU/RPU reporting ecstasy being ‘difficult’ to obtain. Purity perceptions have also increased with more reports of ecstasy being ‘high’.

These are some of the conclusions of the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS)-2012.

607 participants took part in the EDRS in 2012. Due to smaller states having an issue with recruitment NT and WA recruited with broader criteria to include regular (six separate occasions of use) psychostimulant use to recruit regular psychostimulant users (RPU) rather than the previous EDRS criteria of regular Ecstasy user (REU). Participants were primarily recruited through word-of-mouth and street press.

The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) is the most comprehensive and detailed study of ecstasy and related drug markets in Australia. The EDRS monitors the price, purity and availability of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) and other related drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, GHB, ketamine and more recently emerging psychoactive substances (EPS). It also examines trends in the use and harms of these drugs. The data collection includes: a) surveys with regular ecstasy users (REU); b) surveys with key experts (KE) who have contact with REU through the nature of their work; and c) the analysis of existing data sources that contain information on ecstasy and other drugs.

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