Heroin smoking by “chasing the dragon” in young opiate users in Ireland: stability and associations with use to “come down” off “Ecstasy”

We explored the frequency of commencing opiate use by “chasing the dragon” to “come down” off Ecstasy and the stability of heroin smoking in young opiate takers by assessing 102 subjects in Dublin using a semistructured interview. Ninety-two subjects had used Ecstasy. Of these, 68 reported “chasing” to “come down” off Ecstasy at some point in their history and were found to have used Ecstasy more frequently and in larger amounts. Thirty-six reported that their first experience of using opiates was to “come down” off Ecstasy, 28 citing this as their main reason for commencement.

Eighty-six of the 102 commenced opiates by “chasing” heroin, 61 of whom progressed to injecting after a mean of 2.9 years. This was associated with starting illicit drug use earlier, starting heroin earlier, and a history of using Ecstasy. Implications for service planners in developing responses to illicit drug use among adolescents are discussed.