Characteristics and social representation of ecstasy in Europe - Irefrea

With the support of the political and health authorities and the drug-dependencyservices, several meetings and seminaries have been organised. Among them, forexample, The Ecstasy Seminar organised by the AIRIS Association (ambient-researchsociety)held in Venice in 1993; Recreational Drugs. Ecstasy What is it?. What are itsConsequences?, organised by the Venice region, held in Thiene in 1995; Ecstasy andPsychedelic Drugs, Research, Papers and Prospectives, organised by the EmiliaRomagna region and held in Bolonia in 1996.In Emilia Romagna, with its innumerable discos with high use, this problem is theobjective of particular attention as can be seen from the prevention and treatmentproject aimed at new drug users which was recently agreed with DGR, 26 February1997.The programme of interventions has been prepared with the participation of Italianworkers in dancing establishments and envisages a strong integration among the varioussocial services.In the project, ample space is given to the importance of the role of information,often negated, or relegated to a secondary plane, as if talking about determinedphenomena would encourage their spread and contagion. Nevertheless, it seemsessential to return to a correct level of scientific information among the workers, peopleat risk and users.The project turns its attention to health protection from a preferably preventive pointof view (1st, 2nd, 3rd prevention in the face of people at risk and those who already haveexperienced these behaviours). In other words, breaking away from the usual schemaand, in particular, those usual debates between prohibition and liberalisation, giving afront line place to discussion on the appropriate action, to asking ourselves if it is notmore appropriate, to face up to these substances which are, in fact, being used. Thisimplies a greater responsibility by the workers of the country who are findingthemselves face-to-face with non-codifiable a priori choices but varying according tothe case and subject to a continual verification.The project envisages a series of activities in the prevention field and widespreadinformative campaigns on the different aspects. Such campaigns will be aimed atattacking the myth of the provincial or superprovincial for analysing substances, withthe objective of evaluating in real time which substances are circulating in the countryin a determined period. Inspired by the experiences in Holland, it envisages the creationof a direct channel between the world of the user and the world of the services.Favouring an easy and comfortable communication with users.Another aim of the project concerns the creation of a regulation linked to themanagers of the dancing locales based on the following interventions:01) Reduction of the lighting and acoustical impact (an hour before closing, forexample).02) Decompression areas.03) Prevention of an excessive increase in body temperature.153