Rave culture and ecstasy use

Abstract

This research project is divided into six chapters and it attempts to describe what 'Rave Culture' is in the eyes of the Maltese young people and also to explore ecstasy use within this youth culture. As Rave Culture is still considered a new youth culture, literature was not easily obtained, thus some personal experience was viewed. Part of this study involves a number of interviews with eight known ecstasy users, four females and four males, and another four females and four males non-ecstasy users but who also attend rave parties. The aim was to explore if Rave Culture motivates young people to experiment with the illegal drug - Ecstasy. This work also looks into the issue whether this 'recreational' drug used mostly by young people may lead to addiction. This study was a first attempt at gathering this relevant information regarding ecstasy users and non-users within the Rave Culture. This may or may not reflect the general trends in the Maltese rave scene.