ArticlePsychopharmacology2012
Linking the pharmacological content of ecstasy tablets to the subjective experiences of drug users.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug checking services for people who use drugs: a systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Pooled it
- Cognitive Effects of MDMA in Laboratory Animals: A Systematic Review Focusing on Dose.Pharmacological reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Risk communication about high-dose MDMA: Impact of a hypothetical drug alert on future MDMA use.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Trial
- No major role of norepinephrine transporter gene variations in the cardiostimulant effects of MDMA.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2018Trial
- Direct comparison of the acute subjective, emotional, autonomic, and endocrine effects of MDMA, methylphenidate, and modafinil in healthy subjects.Psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Comparative Effects of Methylphenidate, Modafinil, and MDMA on Response Inhibition Neural Networks in Healthy Subjects.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2017Trial
- MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2014Trial
- A Quantitative Analysis of Street-Level Drugs Seized in New South Wales, Australia: Purity, Dose and Adulterants.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Drug testing after use: what insights can be gained from a harm reduction perspective on visitors of the drugs information and monitoring system (DIMS) in the Netherlands?Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Consumer expectations, drug effects, price and purity of heroin and cocaine purchased at drug consumption rooms.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Are periodontitis, dental caries and xerostomia more frequently present in recreational ecstasy users?British dental journal · 2022Article
- Beyond ecstasy: Alternative entactogens to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine with potential applications in psychotherapy.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2021Review
- Patterns of ecstasy use amongst live music event attendees and their opinions on pill testing: a cross sectional study.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2020Article
- Fatal and non-fatal health incidents related to recreational ecstasy use.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2020Review
- The drug purity discounting task: Ecstasy use likelihood is reduced by probabilistic impurity according to harmfulness of adulterants.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Article
- Distinct acute effects of LSD, MDMA, and D-amphetamine in healthy subjects.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Article
- No Influence of Dopamine System Gene Variations on Acute Effects of MDMA.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Article
- Acute Effects of Methylphenidate, Modafinil, and MDMA on Negative Emotion Processing.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Article
- Effect of the combination of mephedrone plus ethanol on serotonin and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex of awake rats.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2018Article
- Additive Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and Compassionate Imagery on Self-Compassion in Recreational Users of Ecstasy.Mindfulness · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleMost studies on the subjective effects of ecstasy are based on the assumption that the substance that was taken is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). However, many tablets sold as ecstasy contain other substances and MDMA in varying doses. So far, few attempts have been made to take this into account while assessing subjective effects.
objectivesThis study aims to link the pharmacological content of tablets sold as ecstasy to the subjective experiences reported by ecstasy users.
methodsSelf-reported effects on ecstasy tablets were available from 5,786 drug users who handed in their tablets for chemical analysis at the Drug Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) in the Netherlands. Logistic regression was employed to link the pharmacological content of ecstasy tablets to the self-reported subjective effects and compare effects with MDMA to other substances present.
resultsMDMA showed a strong association with desirable subjective effects, unparalleled by any other psychoactive substance. However, the association of MDMA was dose-dependent, with higher doses (>120 mg/tablet) likely to evoke more adverse effects. The novel psychostimulants mephedrone and p-fluoroamphetamine were considered relatively desirable, whereas meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) and p-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) were strongly associated with adverse subjective effects. Also, 3,4-methylene-dioxyamphetamine (MDA) and benzylpiperazine (BZP) were not appreciated as replacement for MDMA.
conclusionLinking the pharmacological content of ecstasy sold on the street to subjective experiences contributes to a better understanding of the wide range of subjective effects ascribed to ecstasy and provides a strong rationale for the prolonged endurance of MDMA as the key ingredient of the ecstasy market.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.