Background

Party Panel Maastricht is a panel study in Dutch nightlife. Party Panel measures why people in the Dutch nightlife scene do what they do in a variety of areas, including substance use, safe sex, hearing protection, and participation in traffic. In collaboration with Maastricht University, they wanted to do a research about how to make the use of drugs safer. The project specifically focused on informing users about drug testing services, with a particular emphasis on ecstasy (MDMA).

XTC is a street name that commonly used to refer to MDMA in a pill or tablet form. It works by increasing the activity of three neurotransmitters in the brain: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Serotonin is particularly involved in mood regulation, and its increased activity contributes to MDMA’s characteristic feelings of empathy, emotional openness, and heightened sensory perception. It can lead to feelings of euphoria, increased energy, emotional warmth, and distorted sensory and time perception. They are often manufactured illegally in unregulated settings, leading to inconsistencies in dosage and purity. This increases the risks associated with its use, including potential toxicity and adverse reactions (though, it should be known it is not possible to die from use, it can cause dehydration, water-poisoning or overheating). MDMA use can lead to physical effects such as increased heart rate, dilated pupils, jaw clenching, sweating, and decreased appetite.