A cross-sectional study entitled "Sources of information about MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine): Perceived accuracy, importance, and implications for prevention among young adult users" published in the April issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence indicates that friends are the number one source of information about the drug. Research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by Russel Falck, Robert Carlson, Jichuan Wang and Harvey Siegal at the Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton queried recent MDMA ('ecstasy') users from central Ohio on their perceptions of the importance and accuracy of various sources of information about the drug.

Results from interviews with 304 young adult users, aged 18 to 30 years old, indicated that friends were considered the most important source of information about MDMA, followed by websites like DanceSafe.org, and MTV/VH1 television specials. One-half of the participants used the Internet to access information. Non-government websites were visited by four times as many individuals as were government sites. Younger and more educated users were most likely to access the Internet for information about 'ecstasy'. Friends, drug abuse treatment programs, and physicians were seen as the top three sources in terms of accuracy although the latter two were utilized infrequently. Parents, mainstream newspapers and radio were considered the least accurate sources of information. The findings from this study provide insight into preventing MDMA use and reducing associated morbidity among young people.

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Contact: Russel Falck
russel.falck@wright.edu
937-775-2066
Elsevier
29-Apr-2004

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