"E" is for… Emerging Drug Policy Issue

M B Webb

Debates about policy on illicit drug use have tended to focus on the traditional plant-based drugs (heroin, cocaine and cannabis). In recent years, however, there has been a large increase in the abuse and trafficking of synthetic “designer drugs”, especially amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS, for example, ecstasy, also known as MDMA or “E”). Such trends are worrying both for law enforcement authorities and for health authorities, who now better understand the harmful effects of ecstasy.

This paper uses the example of ecstasy to introduce some of the important policy issues around the growing use of ATS in New Zealand. Although only 1% of the New Zealand population have used ecstasy, there is the potential for it to become a serious problem. After describing the drug’s negative toxic effects, the paper reviews initiatives by government agencies to respond to this drug use trend and signals areas where further initiatives could occur as part of the Government’s National Drug Policy. If we are to take the harm caused by ecstasy seriously, we need to employ the philosophy of harm minimisation which underpins the National Drug Policy.