Ireland should aim to reduce the damage caused by taking ecstasy with a more creative prevention and education campaign, a new report has recommended. The report, entitled "Ecstasy and Young People", by the National Youth Federation, says Ireland should learn from the experiences of Britain and the Netherlands which, it says, have implemented successful awareness campaigns specifically on ecstasy.
"There should be a particular focus on raves and nightclubs emphasising harm reduction measures for ecstasy users," the report recommends. "Such a campaign in Scotland has resulted in no reported ecstasy-related deaths in an 18month to two-year period," it said.
In Scotland, dance events are issued with guidelines covering air temperature and ventilation, free drinking water, rest rooms, as well as the provision of trained security and medical staff.
According to the report, there has been a massive increase in the use of ecstasy by young people in Ireland. In 1993 gardai seized 2,000 ecstasy tablets. This increased to more than 120,000 tablets in 1995.
The report said that the perception of those working with young people was that the young still regarded ecstasy as relatively safe. The report says little reliable research has taken place on the physical and psychological dangers of using ecstasy and that it would probably be 10 to 20 years before a clear picture emerges.
It adds that short and long-term effects of ecstasy were "highly individualistic to the user and dependent on a number of factors including their user's general state of health, their metabolism, the exact contents of the ecstasy tablet and the precautions they take".