This study was conducted at the Poppi XTC-shop exhibition in Amsterdam 2024.

SETUP: The visitors were asked to fill in a questionnaire while they walked around the exhibition. The first side of the questionnaire was filled in as soon as they walked in and the second side was filled in just before they left. This allowed us to study how seeing the exhibition influenced people’s attitudes on drug regulation and the importance of the topic. 221 participants completed the questionnaire, with most respondents being between 25-65 years old. The participation was voluntary for the visitors.

Sample: Age x Gender

Exhibition

Visit Duration in Minutes

Most of the sample (56%) were regular users of ecstasy. This should be noted as it can bias the results. However, it is unclear whether this presents a larger bias in the population (of Amsterdam) or is selection bias for the people that were motivated to visit the exhibition.

Attitudes on Regulation of Ecstasy

Majority of the participants were in favour of legalisation of the sale of ecstasy. After visiting the exhibition, people’s attitudes became slightly more favorable. Consequently, most people found the topic important and even more so, after visiting the exhibition. It should be noted that all of our participants visited the exhibition, which creates a biased sample.

Sale of Ecstasy

Issue Imporantance

## How to Regulate

We asked the participants in more detail, what they thought about possible specific regulations. We found that majority of the respondents supported the sale in pharmacies and pharmacies. On the contrary, bars and clubs should not have permission to sell ecstasy and in any circumstance, sale should not be allowed for people younger than the legal age. Most agreed that marketing should not be permitted.

How to Regulate by Use (used ecstasy)

All three groups (never used ecstasy, used 1-2 times, uses regularly) agreed on most questions. For instance, majority of the participants thought that marketing and the sale in bars or clubs should not be permitted. They also agreed that there should be an age limit. The sale in pharmacies was supported by all groups while the need for medical prescription was responded more cautiously. Regular users strongly preferred the sale in smart shops while those that have never used ecstasy were against this.

How to Regulate by Age

We used wide age groups to protect the anonymity of the participants as much as possible. Therefore, drawing meaningful conclusions about the the age data is challenging as large majority of the participants were between 25-65 years old.

How to Regulate by Gender

We did not find gender differences in attitudes about regulations. Based on the mean answers, women seem to be slightly more strict but we did not test whether these differences were significant.

Mean Values by Gender

##                                                 Male   Female    Other
## Permitted with a medical subscription (pre) 1.510204 1.649123 1.500000
## Permitted in a pharmacy                     1.367347 1.696429 1.000000
## Permitted in a smart shop                   1.628866 1.684685 1.666667
## Permitted in bars/clubs                     2.306122 2.531532 1.750000
## Permitted for people of legal age           1.173469 1.371681 1.000000
## Permitted with a valid ID                   1.244898 1.446429 1.250000
## Marketing can be permitted                  2.530612 2.589286 2.500000

Exhibition Effect on Opinion of Legalization by Use Group

We discovered that people became more positive about the legalisation of the sell of ecstasy after the exhibition (F(1, 207) = 7.07, p = .008). So, the exhibition had a weak but significant influence on the attitudes of the participants. The attitudes also had a positive association with how often people had used ecstasy. Regular users felt more positive about legalisation compared to those who have never used or have only used 1-2 times (F(1, 207) = 26.34, p < 0.0001). Nevertheless, all groups were positive about legalisation and became slightly more positive after seeing the installation.

Exhibition Effect on Importance of the Issue of Legalization by Use Group

Similarly, people also found the issue more important after the exhibition (F(1, 207) = 22.08, p < .001). Again, this depended on how often people had used ecstasy. Regular users found the issue more important and even more so after exhibition compared to those who have never used or have only used 1-2 times (F(1, 206) = 11.1, p = 0.001). The effect was not significant in the group who had never used ecstasy.

…Many further analyses possible!

Conclusion

The Poppi XTC-shop exhibition provided valuable insights into public attitudes regarding the regulation and legalisation of ecstasy. By administering a pre- and post-exhibition questionnaire, we were able to analyze changes in attitudes and perceptions. However, the sample’s composition—56% of whom were regular ecstasy users—likely introduced some bias, as this group may not represent the general population.

The majority of participants were in favor of legalizing the sale of ecstasy, with opinions becoming slightly more positive after visiting the exhibition. Regular users displayed a stronger preference for legalisation than participants who had never used ecstasy or had limited experience. Participants generally found the topic of ecstasy regulation important, and even more so after visiting the exhibition.

The XTC-shop exhibition increased favorable attitudes toward ecstasy legalisation and the perceived importance of the issue. While the findings suggest a positive influence of the exhibition, the sample’s composition (e.g., a high proportion of regular users) must be considered when interpreting the results.

We thank all those that participated in the study and for the interest in our research.