Ecstasy and sexuality: an exploratory study in Quebec
The use of recreational drugs like ecstasy fulfills several social functions and can be linked to the quest of enhanced erotic experiences. Many studies, using mainly a quantitative perspective, were realized among ecstasy users in order to better understand the influence of its consumption on their sexual response, which is variably modulated. Few studies on this topic have been realized in Quebec. The main objective of our exploratory study is to highlight the psychosexual experience of some users. Twenty-seven men and women living in Quebec have answered, via Internet, to an open question on ecstasy use and sexuality. The analysis of the discourses shows the importance of the entactogen and empathogen characteristics of ecstasy, its multiple and variable effects on the sexual response as well as its disinhibiting function which contributes to the exploration of new sexual practices. It seems important to conduct other studies, which take into account the levels of consumption of ecstasy and others drugs on the modulations sexual response and on their long term effects on sexuality.