NCJ Number
225631
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 15 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 329-349
Date Published
August 2008
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study examined the benefits connected to issues of pleasure and fun, stated by respondents to explicate their experience with ecstasy.
Abstract
Results indicated that despite the risks, most respondents believed that using ecstasy was ultimately a positive decision; for some respondents the experience of using ecstasy was so significant that they wished to recreate the experience in their everyday lives. While for some the importance lay solely in the ability to have fun, others valued ecstasy for its ability to change perception and allow them a glimpse at an alternative way of being and interacting with others. The possibility of viewing the world differently and interacting with others in a more meaningful way may reflect the alienated state of modern youth, often referred to as “Generation Y” or the lost generation. However, research has suggested that the desire to transcend the mundane is not specific to young people but instead reflects a more general tendency within post-industrial societies where individuals in general seek out emotionally exciting activities, including leisure activities to offset the suffocation of an over controlled, alienated existence within the mundane reality of modern life. Table, notes, and references