Why are regular ecstasy users used to monitor ecstasy and related drug markets?
The sentinel population chosen to monitor trends in ecstasy and related drugs (ERD) markets consists of people who engage in the regular use of the drug sold as ‘ecstasy’. Although a range of drugs fall into the category ‘ecstasy and related drugs’, ecstasy is a drug that can be considered one of the main illicit drugs used in Australia. It is the second most widely used illicit drug after cannabis with 3.5% of the population aged 14 years or older reporting recent use of ecstasy in the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey First Results (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008a).
