Heroin as evil: ecstasy users' perceptions about heroin

Information gleaned from several studies suggests that non-opiate drug user s view heroin and heroin users in negative terms. The present study examine s this issue in greater detail through analysis of Ecstasy users' perceptio ns about heroin, heroin users and injectors. The data were collected throug h in-depth interviews with 98 current or former users of Ecstasy who were r ecruited through various methods in 1997-98. The findings confirm earlier r eports and suggest that Ecstasy users tend to distance themselves from hero in users. The data also show that several Ecstasy users tend to believe tha t bad experiences with Ecstasy can be attributed to tablets laced with hero in. Explanations for these findings are offered.