Characteristics and social representation of ecstasy in Europe - Irefrea

In the C group there are five components which have not associated significantlywith the representations chains These are “reasonable price”, “solution for shy people”,“not drinking ecstasy when drinking alcohol”, “ecstasy for escaping from reality” and“euphoria and getting on with people”.The item “someone taking ecstasy doesn’t drink at the same time” only appears inthe NC diagram, forming a mini-block with “sharpens ideas” and “the trouble withecstasy is you don’t know what you’re taking”. “sharpens ideas” is an item which 91,4%of the NC group reject, whereas “the trouble with ecstasy is that you don’t know whatyou’re taking” is agreed by 89,3% of the NC whereas “not drinking alcohol at the sametime as taking ecstasy” is a more neutral item in this sample with very similarpercentages between the C and the NC groups. Therefore, we have a mini-blockdifficult to place in a definition but which shows great solidity in the union betweenshowing the rejection to finding help in ecstasy and thinking that the adulteration ofecstasy is a problem (Stereotype achieved through the communications media? Horrorfor everything which is a chemical product?). Perhaps the central idea of this mini-blockis that you have to be clear about ecstasy but that this is not going to make things clearfor you.The second mini-block comprise only two items “it is a reasonably priced drug” and“it is a clean drug, easy to use and convenient”. 87,8% of the NC group disagree withthis final item and those who disagree with the first item among the NC group is doublethat of the C group. Therefore, this block is an association centred on the so-calledpractical advantages (low price and easy use) of this substance, something rejected bythe NC group.Then there are the two big traditional blocks. One is articulated around the idea ofthinking of drugs in terms of danger comprising the 6 components which are the usualones that we have found in other samples.The fourth big block is like the usual one which forms around the effects of ecstasy,comprising 8 items. It lacks the “escape from reality” which forms part of this block,so many times, but it has not, on this occasion, associated itself with either this chainor any other. Nevertheless, it maintains its usual meaning in that the NC group believewith more frequency than the C group that this drug serves to escape from reality. Norwill it appear among the C group. This block will maintain the traditional meaning butwith nuances. The item “ecstasy makes you feel good” occupies a central position withfive associations with 8 of these items, for its more ambiguous role. In fact, more of theNC group (46,4%) are in agreement than the C group(36,6%) that ecstasy is good.The division in more blocks and the same composition of the blocks gives us a morediverse picture of social representation than the Utrecht sample. Nevertheless, the factthat the big blocks are maintained and that some of the mini-blocks continue the sameorientation as the large ones enables us to continue to think that the general discoursemay be maintained, introducing the necessary corrections in each city.128