Ecstasy Sales Initiation Investigation

This paper presents a qualitative study of 80 women and men Ecstasy sellers in private settings. Further, the paper also explores the identity processes and pathways to dealing with Ecstasy sellers. According to the respondents, the real dealers of Ecstasy sold the drug in public settings to people who were unknown to them and considered the drug business to be their primary source of income. About 76 percent of the sample size resisted concealing the identity of the dealer due to the fear of the consequences. The researchers also found out there exists a stigma that is profoundly associated with dealing. A profound majority of the sample merely found themselves dealing and did not consciously decide to sell. The respondents did not exhibit considerable knowledge on drug dealing especially the precautionary sales strategies typical in drug dealing. Importantly, the Ecstasy sellers created positive identity constructions for themselves which has been addressed in this research paper in-depth. This paper draws on selected findings of a funded studies from the National Institute of Justice titled A Qualitative Study of Ecstasy Sellers. This research was conducted between 2002 and 2004. 

The study principally investigated the sales initiation and the continuation practices of the Ecstasy sellers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to validate the pathways of Ecstasy sellers in their dealings and how the relationships with their customers affect their identity processes and sales practices, including the common perceptions about a real Ecstasy dealer. The results of the study indicate that the respondents first used Ecstasy within the age range of 14 to 56 years. The median age for Ecstasy consumption is 19 years. Prior to starting the sales business of Ecstasy, 93 percent of the respondents had used the drug. The primary limitation of the study lies in the fact that the interviewees were afraid of concealing the true identity of the real Ecstasy dealers. The stigma surrounding drug dealing denied the respondents some answers that would have been instrumental in answering critical questions in this research. Further, there is lack of a padded theoretical framework to base the research. It is possible that the research was inconclusive and incomprehensive because of the drug abuse stigma that inclined the respondents to hide the identity of the actual drug dealers. Collecting data from former drug dealers would have yielded better results because they would have obtained the real identity of the Ecstasy dealers. However, the research method was progressive and meticulous. The primary data collected enabled the researchers to obtain first hand information and immediate feedback. The data analysis done by the researcher was effective. The primary concepts of the study were equally well documented and conducted. The results of this study are valid because the primary method of data collection and analysis are effective. Any error in the primary concepts would have resulted into an erroneous and invalid results. The results of this research are unique, but the concepts of the research are similar to the findings of other research works. The researchers comprehensively covered a substantial theoretical framework. However, the critical race theory could be equally effective in establishing the race relation between drug dealing and ethnicity. The sample population is from San Francisco; thus, the findings is not quite representative of the larger parts of the United States.